Cessna 208B N454SF
15 January 2008 · Bethel, Alaska, United States · Minor injuries
Summary
On 15 January 2008 at about 18:39 local time, a Cessna 208B registered N454SF was involved in an accident near Bethel, Alaska, United States. 5 people were on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 18:39
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Bethel, Alaska, United States
- Nearest airport
- Bethel (PABE)
- Coordinates
- 60.7797, -161.8381
- Aircraft
- Cessna 208B
- Registration
- N454SF
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Sheldon Point → Bethel
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- ANC08LA031
People
1 person had minor injuries.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
Probable cause
The pilot's selection of unsuitable terrain for landing. Contributing to the accident were snow-covered terrain, blowing snow and flat lighting conditions.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The airline transport pilot was planning to land on an asphalt runway that had localized drifting and blowing snow. Instead, the airplane touched down in a snow-covered area of the airport between the runway and the adjacent taxiway. The pilot said that blowing snow and flat lighting conditions contributed to his difficulty in discerning the correct location of the runway. He said he "aimed for the darker area between the runway and the taxiway, believing this was the runway." The director of operations for the operator said that the depression between the runway and the taxiway had been filled with snow by runway maintenance personnel during snow removal operations. He indicated that the area had the illusion of a hard surface, but landing during reduced visibility due to blowing snow required the pilot to take advantage of any and all available resources, such as requesting the activation of the runway lights, and/or using the instrument landing system (ILS) localizer as a means of aligning the airplane with the centerline of the runway.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Cessna 208 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 Oct 2008 | Cessna 208B | Bethel, Alaska, United States | Grant Aviation Inc. | Minor injuries | - |
| 27 Dec 2008 | Cessna 208B | Rock Springs, Wyoming, United States | Corporate Air | No injuries | - |
| 10 May 2008 | Cessna 208B | Ada, Michigan, United States | CSA Air Inc | No injuries | - |
| 1 Jun 2008 | Cessna 208B | Greensburg, Indiana, United States | Skydive Greensburg | No injuries | - |
| 7 Jun 2008 | Cessna 208B | La Junta, Chile | Patagonia Airlines | Fatal | 1 |
| 24 Aug 2008 | Cessna 208 | Zacapa, Guatemala | Aero Ruta Maya | Fatal | 11 |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Oct 2008 | Antonovich Anton B CHALLENGER II | Chugiak, Alaska, United States | Richard H. Roiland | Fatal | 1 |
| 22 Jul 2008 | De Havilland DHC-3 | Iliamna, Alaska, United States | Rainbow King Lodge Inc | No injuries | - |
| 5 Jan 2008 | Piper PA-31-350 | Kodiak, Alaska, United States | Servant Air, Inc. | Fatal | 6 |
| 9 Oct 2008 | Cessna A185F | Kenai, Alaska, United States | Alaska Department of Public Safety | No injuries | - |
| 10 May 2008 | Cessna 172 | Chugiak, Alaska, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 29 Jul 2008 | Saab-Scania Ab (Saab) SAAB 340B | Anchorage, Alaska, United States | Peninsula Airways Inc | No injuries | - |