Cessna T207A N499K

Summary

On 21 July 2013 at about 19:50 local time, a Cessna T207A registered N499K, operated by Katmai Air LLC, was involved in an accident near King Salmon, Alaska, United States. 10 people were on board and 6 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

21 July 2013 at 19:50

Classification

Accident

Location

King Salmon, Alaska, United States

Nearest airport

King Salmon Airport (PAKN)

Coordinates

58.6764, -156.6486

Aircraft

Cessna T207A

Registration

N499K

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Katmai Air LLC

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

King Salmon → Brooks Camp

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC13LA066

6 people had minor injuries.

The pilot’s inadequate visual lookout while departing from a multiple-use waterway, which resulted in a collision with a drifting boat. Contributing to the accident were the lack of visual conspicuity of the boat and the limited amount of time the boat operator had to maneuver the boat once he heard and saw the oncoming airplane.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The commercial pilot was conducting a scheduled commuter flight with six passengers on board the float-equipped airplane. The pilot began the takeoff going up the left side of the river and was aware of boats on the right side of the river. The pilot brought the airplane to the step-taxi position and then backed off the power with the intent to apply full power and take off once the airplane was past the boats. The airplane subsequently struck an18.5-ft open fishing boat and nosed over inverted in the water. The pilot and the passengers reported that they never saw the boat that the airplane hit. The boat operator reported that the boat was idling in neutral as it drifted downriver when he heard and then saw the airplane coming straight toward his boat. The boat operator put the boat into reverse to try to avoid the collision, but, as he backed the boat away, the airplane struck the front right side of it with its left float. The pilot noted that the boat (which was small and olive-drab colored) may have visually blended with other boats and seaplanes parked along the side of the river, and the boat operator said that seaplanes were sometimes difficult to hear when coming from downriver. Both the pilot and the boat operator were familiar with operating in the multiple-use waterway, and each of them were aware of the presence of both seaplane and boat traffic on the morning of the accident. There are no separate designated areas for seaplane traffic and boat traffic in the area in which the accident occurred, and there is no radio contact between the pilots and the boat operators. Although regulations specify right-of-way rules for aircraft and vessels conducting water operations and provide course alteration rules based on their respective positions, the pilot never saw the boat to determine its relative position, and, by the time the boat operator saw the airplane's position, the collision was imminent.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.