Beechcraft C-99 N991AK

Summary

On 16 April 2021 at about 18:10 local time, a Beechcraft C-99 registered N991AK, operated by Lake Clark Air Inc, was involved in an accident near Chignik Lagoon, Alaska, United States. 9 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

16 April 2021 at 18:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Chignik Lagoon, Alaska, United States

Nearest airport

Chignik Lagoon (KCL)

Coordinates

56.3108, -158.5348

Aircraft

Beechcraft C-99

Registration

N991AK

Category

Airplane

Year built

1982

Engines

2

Operator

Lake Clark Air Inc

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Anchorage → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC21LA030

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to visually inspect the runway condition before landing, which resulted in a collision with an ice chunk and main landing gear separation during landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, during final approach to land, he noticed a road grader operating on the far end of the runway. He made a radio transmission stating that the flight was 4 miles out on final approach and observed the road grader pull over at the opposite end of the airport and park. Believing that the operator of the road grader heard his call and parked, he proceeded with a normal approach and landing. After touchdown, he applied reverse with moderate braking. When the airplane was fully out of reverse and had slowed to about 35 mph, he noticed a large piece of foreign object debris (FOD) on the runway centerline. The FOD appeared to be about 18 inches wide and about 12 inches tall. He veered to the left in an effort to straddle the FOD with main landing gear. Subsequently, the right main landing gear struck the FOD, the right main landing gear collapsed, and the airplane slid about 75 ft down the runway centerline before coming to a stop. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing. A postaccident inspection revealed that the FOD was a chunk of ice. The pilot also learned that the road grader was not equipped with an aircraft radio. The pilot reported no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The Federal Aviation Administration Supplement Alaska for the applicable airport under AIRPORT REMARKS states in part: Unattended. Rwy condition not monitored, recommend visual inspection prior to using. Seabirds on and invof arpt. Vehicle and pedestrians frequently use numerous roads and trails that cross rwy. Loose rocks on rwy sfc up to 6". Rwy 04–22 sfc contains numerous rocks and puddles. Several roads and trails cross Rwy 04–22. Rwy 04 thlds marked with orange reflective cones.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.