Learjet 35A N351AS

Summary

On 21 February 2008 at about 23:50 local time, a Learjet 35A registered N351AS, operated by Chipola Aviation Inc., was involved in an accident near Aniak, Alaska, United States. 5 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

21 February 2008 at 23:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Aniak, Alaska, United States

Nearest airport

Aniak (PANI)

Coordinates

61.5817, -159.5431

Aircraft

Learjet 35A

Registration

N351AS

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Chipola Aviation Inc.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Anchorage → Aniak

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

ANC08LA035

Nobody was injured.

The captain's inadequate compensation for wind conditions during the landing flare/touchdown. Contributing to the accident were a crosswind and windshear.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flightcrew of a turbojet airplane were landing during dark night VFR conditions at the conclusion of an instrument flight rules (IFR) cross-country aeromedical positioning flight. The captain said he broke out of the cloud base about 1,200 feet msl, 7 miles from the runway. He said he was holding about 15 to 20 degrees of left crab to remain aligned with the runway centerline, and he felt a strong crosswind over the runway threshold. During the landing flare, the left wingtip fuel tank contacted the runway. The captain applied full right aileron and full right rudder, and the airplane touched down on the centerline. After parking, an inspection of the left wingtip fuel tank revealed scraping and flattening of about the aft third of the underside of the fuel tank. The upper surface of the wing, inboard from the tip tank, was wrinkled. The automated weather observing system (AWOS) was reporting, in part: Wind, 270 degrees at 5 knots; visibility, 9 statute miles; clouds and sky condition, 1,200 feet overcast. The FAA Facility Directory/Alaska Supplement notes that "Because of natural obstructions, the AWOS-3 wind may be unrepresentative of runway wind conditions." The captain indicated that the landing approach speed was flown with additional airspeed to compensate for the wind conditions, and he noted that he could only assume that windshear contributed to the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.