Beechcraft A36 N1820L

Summary

On 20 March 2021 at about 00:15 local time, a Beechcraft A36 registered N1820L, operated by Lake Clark Air, was involved in an accident near Port Alsworth, Alaska, United States. 2 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

20 March 2021 at 00:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Port Alsworth, Alaska, United States

Nearest airport

Port Alsworth (TPO)

Coordinates

60.2043, -154.3189

Aircraft

Beechcraft A36

Registration

N1820L

Category

Airplane

Year built

1976

Engines

1

Operator

Lake Clark Air

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Anchorage → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC21LA027

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's misidentification of the airport’s active runway, which resulted in an off runway landing and a collision with a snow berm. Contributing to the accident was the runway’s lack of identifying markings.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, during the approach to land on a plowed- snow-covered runway, he selected a touchdown point near, what he had identified as, the runway threshold. On short final a pilot-rated passenger seated in the right front seat recommended adding power. The pilot assumed this was to “cushion” the landing not realizing he was landing short of the runway’s plowed surface. Subsequently, the airplane touchdown in an area of unplowed snow, impacted a snow berm, and the nosewheel collapsed. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot reported no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions that would have precluded normal operations. In the recommendation section of the NTSB Accident/Incident Reporting Form 6120.1, the pilot stated that the accident may have been prevented if there were clear runway threshold markings to define the runway’s plowed surface. According to the operator, cones are normally used to identify the runway threshold; however, they had been removed due to ongoing snow removal operations on the day of the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.