ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 29273
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| Date: | Thursday 3 December 1998 |
| Time: | 12:38 LT |
| Type: |  Piper PA-31-350 Chieftain |
| Owner/operator: | Cape Smythe Air Service, Inc. |
| Registration: | N3542H |
| MSN: | 31-7952233 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1979 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 15638 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming LTIO-540-32B |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Point Lay Long Range Radar Site, Point Lay, Alaska -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Ferry/positioning |
| Departure airport: | Kotzebue, AK (OTZ) |
| (KPIZ) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
A witness observed the airplane circle to land at the completion of an NDB approach. The nighttime meteorological conditions were an 800 feet ceiling, 1 mile visibility in blowing snow, and 26 knot winds. The surrounding terrain was essentially flat, snow covered, and featureless. The witness saw the airplane on final approach misaligned for the runway, and then disappear below an 18 feet msl bluff. He transmitted on the radio to 'get out of there,' and heard no response. About 10 minutes later the accident pilot walked up to the witness' airplane. The pilot told the investigator-in-charge that he was 'beat around by the winds, ...it was snowing pretty hard, I always had the lights, and I was concentrating on the runway. The next thing I knew I was on the ground short of the runway.' The pilot's previous experience to this airport was during daytime, and during visual conditions. The airport, which was being transferred from the Air Force to the North Slope Borough, has medium intensity runway lights (MIRL), and runway end identifier lights (REILS). It does not have visual approach slope indicator (VASI) lights.
Probable Cause: Failure of the pilot to maintain a proper glidepath. Factors associated with this accident were the airport not having a VASI system installed, and the lack of visual perception for the pilot.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB ANC99LA014
FAA register: 2. FAA: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=3542H
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 15 March 1997 | N3542H | Cape Smythe Air | 0 | Kotzebue, AK | |
min |
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 27-Sep-2008 01:00 | ASN archive | Added |
| 30-Apr-2015 02:57 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Location, Country, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
| 25-Jun-2015 14:33 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Departure airport] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:16 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:20 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 15-Oct-2017 17:56 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Location, Departure airport, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
| 15-Oct-2017 17:57 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Destination airport] |
| 04-Jul-2020 20:38 | BEAVERSPOTTER | Updated [Cn] |
| 04-Apr-2024 12:53 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Operator, Other fatalities, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative, Category, Accident report] |
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