McDonnell Douglas MD-83 N949AS

Summary

On 18 May 2006 at about 22:27 local time, a McDonnell Douglas MD-83 registered N949AS, operated by Alaska Air Group, was involved in an incident near Fairbanks, Alaska, United States. 145 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was slightly damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

18 May 2006 at 22:27

Classification

Incident

Location

Fairbanks, Alaska, United States

Nearest airport

Fairbanks Intl (FAI)

Coordinates

64.8000, -147.8500

Aircraft

McDonnell Douglas MD-83

Registration

N949AS

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Alaska Air Group

Operating rule

Part 121: Air Carrier

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Anchorage → Fairbanks

Aircraft damage

Minor

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC06IA054

Nobody was injured.

The flightcrew's delayed go-around during an unstabilized approach to land, which resulted in dragging a wingtip on the runway during the go-around. A factor associated with the incident was the flightcrew's unstabilized approach.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

A McDonnell Douglas MD-83 airplane sustained minor damage to the right wingtip while landing, following an unstabilized approach. The captain reported that the first officer was initially flying a VOR approach to runway 19R, which requires a left turn to align the airplane with the runway centerline before touchdown. During the initial part of the approach, intermittent instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) prevailed, but as the approach continued, the airplane descended below the scattered cloud deck, and entered visual meteorological conditions. The captain said that the first officer asked if he could continue the VOR approach to runway 19R for proficiency proposes, and the captain agreed. As the airplane continued towards the airport, the captain noticed that the precision approach path indicator lights for runway 19L appeared to be on full bright. The captain's written statement to the NTSB stated, in part: "The first officer initially saw runway 19L while still above the MDA [minimum descent altitude] and 3 miles from the field. I pointed out runway 19R. While maneuvering to line up on the runway, we overshot." As the airplane passed over the approach end of the runway, it was to the left of the runway centerline, and the first officer applied right aileron control to correct the misalignment. The captain then gave the order to go-around, and takeoff engine power was applied, but the airplane's descent continued, and the right wing struck the runway as the main landing gear wheels contacted the runway. There were no preincident mechanical anomalies reported by the operator or flightcrew.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.