Swearingen SA227-AC N3108B

Summary

On 14 December 2012 at about 15:18 local time, a Swearingen SA227-AC registered N3108B, operated by Business Aviation Courier, was involved in an incident near Williston, North Dakota, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

14 December 2012 at 15:18

Classification

Incident

Location

Williston, North Dakota, United States

Nearest airport

Sloulin International (ISN)

Coordinates

48.1769, -103.6394

Aircraft

Swearingen SA227-AC

Registration

N3108B

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Business Aviation Courier

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Williston → Sioux Falls

Aircraft damage

Not recorded

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN13IA107

Nobody was injured.

The snowplow driver’s failure to ensure that the runway was clear before driving onto it, which resulted in a runway incursion with a departing airplane.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he made several radio calls announcing his intention to take off and that he did not hear any radio calls from other aircraft or vehicles. At the end of the ground roll, he heard a "garbled" transmission stating something about the departure runway. He stated that, as the airplane lifted off, he saw a snowplow on the runway heading in the opposite direction. He continued the takeoff and flew over the snowplow. The snowplow driver stated that he did not hear any radios transmissions from the airplane until after it was airborne and that he had been plowing for about 30 minutes and had made radio calls every 2 to 3 minutes announcing his position. Another pilot who landed about 30 minutes after the incident reported that he also saw a snowplow operating on the airport and that he did not hear any radio calls from the snowplow even after it had crossed a runway. A postincident check of the snowplow and airplane radios revealed that they were functioning properly. The reason why the pilot and snowplow driver were not aware of each other's presence could not be determined due to the lack of recorded radio transmissions and because the airplane and snowplow radios were functioning properly. However, Federal Aviation Administration guidelines to ground vehicle operators state that they need to yield right-of-way to moving aircraft and that they need to ensure that no potential conflict with a moving aircraft exists.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.