Swearingen SW-4 N425MA
5 January 2007 · Denver, Colorado, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 5 January 2007 at about 14:28 local time, a Swearingen SW-4 registered N425MA, operated by Key Lime Air, was involved in an incident near Denver, Colorado, United States. 51 people were on board and nobody was injured. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 14:28
- Classification
- Incident
- Location
- Denver, Colorado, United States
- Nearest airport
- Denver International (DEN)
- Coordinates
- 39.7501, -104.9997
- Aircraft
- Swearingen SW-4
- Registration
- N425MA
- Category
- Airplane
- Operator
- Key Lime Air
- Operating rule
- Unknown
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Denver → Unknown
- Aircraft damage
- Not recorded
- Weather
- IMC
- NTSB number
- OPS07IA001
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 51 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 51 |
Probable cause
The probable cause of the incident was the Key Lime Air flight 4216 pilot's inadvertant entry onto the active runway. A contributing factor to the incident was the failure of the Denver tower ground and local controllers to detect the aircraft on the airport movement area safety system (ASDE) display and issue a go-around instruction to the arrival flight crew.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
At 0728 MST (1428 UTC) a runway incursion occurred involving Key Lime Air (LYM) flight 4216, an SW4, and Frontier (FFT) flight 297, an A319, at Denver International Airport (DEN), Denver, Colorado. At 0725:00, the DEN ground controller instructed LYM4216 to taxi to runway 34 via taxiways M and AA. According the SW4 pilot, blowing snow reduced his visibility and taxiway SC was covered with snow that prevented him from seeing the centerline lighting. As he attempted to find the centerline lighting, he saw blue taxi lights, followed them and turned onto runway 35L. According to the recorded airport surface detection equipment (ASDE), LYM4216 entered runway 35L at taxiway M2 at 0727:06. At 0728:10, the ground controller asked the LYM4216 pilot his location. The pilot advised he was abeam Signature. Once the controller asked his location, the pilot stated that he noticed that he was on a runway. The First Officer of FFT297 reported, "the Captain and I were flying back to Denver from St. Louis. The weather had deteriorated in Denver so we prepared to fly a full instrument approach. We were cleared to land on runway 35L by tower. I believe we broke out of the clouds around 600 feet. The visibility conditions were ½ mile with blowing snow. We both looked down the runway and confirmed verbally to each other that the runway was clear. We didn't see the aircraft until we were about 100 to 50 feet or so above the deck. When it did come into sight, it was at least 2,000 feet down the runway. The winds combined with the prop wash from the aircraft along with blowing snow is what caused it to be obscured and out of sight. I immediately commenced a go around as soon as the aircraft was in sight. The tower was given warning from its collision avoidance system not more than a couple of seconds later." At 0728:17, AMASS provided an aural and visual alert for an occupied runway and 4 seconds later, the tower controller instructed FFT297 to "go around". The aircraft missed colliding by approximately 50 feet. Weather at the time of the incident was 600 overcast, 1100 broken, visibility 1/2 mile, light snow, mist, wind 030 at 12, runway visual range on runway 35L was 5,500 feet.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Aircraft involved
| Aircraft | Registration | Operator | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swearingen SW-4 | N425MA | Key Lime Air | - |
| Airbus A-319 | N915FR | Frontier | - |
Other Swearingen SW-4 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 May 1996 | Swearingen SW-4 | St George, Alaska, United States | - | No injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 Apr 2007 | Cessna 170A | Watkins, Colorado, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 2 Nov 2007 | Cessna TP206A | Boulder, Colorado, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 5 Nov 2007 | Piper PA-18-150 | Cortez, Colorado, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 18 Aug 2007 | Air Tractor AT-301 | Alamosa, Colorado, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 19 Aug 2007 | Cessna A185F | Lake City, Colorado, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 21 Aug 2007 | Eaa Biplane P | Parker, Colorado, United States | Terrance R. Vinton | Minor injuries | - |