Helio H-295 N68857

Summary

On 26 September 2016 at about 00:00 local time, a Helio H-295 registered N68857, operated by Wright Air Service, was involved in an accident near Delta Junction, Alaska, United States. One person was 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

26 September 2016 at 00:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Delta Junction, Alaska, United States

Coordinates

63.7889, -146.7986

Aircraft

Helio H-295

Registration

N68857

Category

Airplane

Year built

1974

Engines

1

Operator

Wright Air Service

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Fairbanks → Fairbanks

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC16LA071

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s decision to take off from a wet, snowy airstrip and his delayed decision to abort the takeoff, which resulted in a runway excursion.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airline transport pilot was departing from an 800-ft-long remote, unimproved airstrip that had accumulated between 1 and 2 inches of wet snow. He stated that the airplane seemed to accelerate normally but that it failed to become airborne at his established go/no-go decision point (about 400 ft down the airstrip). With about one-third of the airstrip remaining, he realized that, if he rejected the takeoff, he would be unable to stop the airplane on the remaining airstrip due to the wet snow. So, the pilot chose to continue the takeoff through the low brush at the end of the airstrip. The airplane became airborne, settled back to the ground, and then became airborne again. The main landing gear impacted brush on a small embankment, and the airplane then began to settle. The pilot saw a clear area ahead of the airstrip that led into a creek bed; he reduced the power to idle and held full-aft pressure on the control yoke. The airplane settled to the surface in a three-point attitude and came to rest in the creek bed, which resulted in substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer. The pilot stated there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.