Fairchild C-123K N709RR

Summary

On 1 August 2010 at about 23:00 local time, a Fairchild C-123K registered N709RR, operated by All West Freight Inc, was involved in an accident near McKinley Park, Alaska, United States. 3 people were on board and 3 died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

1 August 2010 at 23:00

Classification

Accident

Location

McKinley Park, Alaska, United States

Nearest airport

None (None)

Coordinates

63.7261, -148.9064

Aircraft

Fairchild C-123K

Registration

N709RR

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

All West Freight Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Executive/Corporate

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Palmer → Unalakleet

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC10FA067

3 people died.

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed to avoid a low altitude stall, resulting in a loss of control and collision with terrain.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot, co-pilot and the passenger departed on a day VFR cross country flight in a large, 1950's era former military transport category airplane to deliver cargo. The pilot did not file a flight plan, and had no communication with any air traffic control facility during the flight. While en route, witnesses saw the airplane fly slowly across a valley near the entrance of a national park, which was not the intended route of flight. The airplane suddenly pitched up, stalled, and dived into wooded terrain within the park. Two pilot-rated witnesses said the engines were operating at the time of the accident, and the landing gear was retracted. An on-scene examination of the burned airplane structure and engines revealed no evidence of any preaccident mechanical deficiencies, or any evidence that the cargo had shifted during the flight. A former military pilot who had experience in the accident type airplane, stated that the airplane was considered unrecoverable from a stall, and for that reason, pilots did not typically practice stalls in it. He also indicated that if a problem was encountered with one of the two piston engines on the airplane, the auxiliary jet engine on the affected side should be started to provide additional thrust. Given the lack of mechanical deficiencies discovered during postaccident inspection, the absence of any distress communications, and the fact that neither of the two auxiliary jet engines had been started to assist in the event of a piston engine malfunction, it is likely the pilot allowed the airplane to lose airspeed and enter a low altitude stall from which he was unable to recover.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.