De Havilland C-7A N2225C

Summary

On 30 August 2001 at about 03:00 local time, a De Havilland C-7A registered N2225C was involved in an accident near Port Alsworth, Alaska, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 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

30 August 2001 at 03:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Port Alsworth, Alaska, United States

Nearest airport

Port Alsworth (PALJ)

Coordinates

62.2044, -154.2578

Aircraft

De Havilland C-7A

Registration

N2225C

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Iliamna → Port Aslworth

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC01LA129

2 people had minor injuries.

The captain's failure to maintain the proper glidepath, and improper short field landing procedures. Factors in the accident were a downdraft, and the captain's inadequate evaluation of the weather conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The captain and the first officer were landing a short takeoff and landing (STOL) cargo airplane on a private, dirt and gravel surface runway. The airplane was configured for landing with 40 degrees of flaps. During the landing approach, variations in indicated airspeed and ground speed indicated windshear conditions. About 100 to 200 feet above the ground, the airplane encountered a downdraft and began to drift to the right of the runway centerline. The captain said she increased engine power and applied full left aileron and rudder, but could not gain directional or pitch control of the airplane. The right wing struck trees, short of the runway threshold, increasing the airplane's right yaw. The captain said that as the airplane neared the ground, she pulled the engine throttles off. The airplane struck the ground with the right main landing gear and right front portion of the fuselage. The airplane then pivoted to the right, 180 degrees from the approach heading. The owner of the airport reported that wind conditions from the east may produce downdrafts in the area of runway 05. He indicated that at the time of the accident, the wind was blowing from the east about 15 knots. The first officer reported the captain appeared to be attempting to maintain a stabilized approach angle by varying the pitch attitude of the airplane. A review of company training literature revealed that the airplane is especially sensitive to slight wind shear, and wind gusts as low as 5 knots when operating at low airspeeds. Pilots are cautioned that when flying the aircraft at low speeds, a large application of the aileron control may be required to maintain wings level. During gusty wind conditions, the threshold airspeed should be increased by one-half the gust factor, and any lateral displacement should be corrected rapidly. If a wing is allowed to drop beyond corrective action of full aileron, power should be increased immediately to regain level flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.