Saab 2000 N686PA

Summary

On 18 October 2019 at about 02:40 local time, a Saab 2000 registered N686PA, operated by Peninsula AviationServices Inc.,, was involved in an accident near Unalaska, Alaska, United States. 42 people were on board and one died, one was seriously injured, 3 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

18 October 2019 at 02:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Unalaska, Alaska, United States

Nearest airport

Unalaska (PADU)

Coordinates

53.8983, -166.5442

Aircraft

Saab 2000

Registration

N686PA

Category

Airplane

Year built

1995

Engines

2

Operator

Peninsula AviationServices Inc.,

Operating rule

Part 121: Air Carrier

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Anchorage → Unalaska

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DCA20MA002

1 person died.

The landing gear manufacturer’s incorrect wiring of the wheel speed transducer harnesses on the left main landing gear during overhaul. The incorrect wiring caused the antiskid system not to function as intended, resulting in the failure of the left outboard tire and a significant loss of the airplane’s braking ability, which led to the runway overrun. Contributing to the accident were (1) Saab’s design of the wheel speed transducer wire harnesses, which did not consider and protect against human error during maintenance; (2) the Federal Aviation Administration’s lack of consideration of the runway safety area dimensions at Unalaska Airport during the authorization process that allowed the Saab 2000 to operate at the airport; and (3) the flight crewmembers’ inappropriate decision, due to their plan continuation bias, to land on a runway with a reported tailwind that exceeded the airplane manufacturer’s limit. The safety margin was further reduced because of PenAir’s failure to correctly apply its company-designated pilot-in-command airport qualification policy, which allowed the accident captain to operate at one of the most challenging airports in PenAir’s route system with limited experience at the airport and in the Saab 2000 airplane.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

On October 17, 2019, about 1740 Alaska daylight time, PenAir flight 3296, a Saab 2000, N686PA, overran the runway while landing at the Thomas Madsen Airport (PADU), Unalaska, Alaska. The airplane passed through the airport perimeter fence, crossed a road, and came to rest on shoreline rocks. Of the 42 passengers and crewmembers on board, 1 passenger was fatally injured, and several other passengers sustained serious or minor injuries. The airplane received substantial damage. The regularly scheduled domestic passenger flight was operating under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121 from Ted Stevens International Airport (KANC), Anchorage, Alaska, to PADU.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.