ST GEORGE, AK, USA
N670PA
Swearingen SW-4
According to passenger's accounts, the airplane was flying low and approached the runway at an angle. The airplane made a right turn and dragged the right wing on the runway's surface. The airplane landed hard and sheared off the right main landing gear and the nose gear. The weather reported by AWOS was 300 foot overcast with a visibility of 2.5 miles with fog. The Captain stated the airplane drifted to the left side of the runway due to the crosswind, and he executed a right turn to realign with the runway. The cockpit voice recorder indicated that the stall warning horn sounded as the First Officer called for the application of power.
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On May 3, 1996, at 1630 Alaska daylight time, a retractable gear, wheel equipped Swearingen Metroliner III, model SW-4, N670PA, registered to and operated by Penair of Anchorage, Alaska, dragged a wing and landed hard while attempting to land on runway 11 at the New St. George Airport, St. George, Alaska. The hard landing collapsed the right main landing gear and nose landing gear. The scheduled commuter flight, operating under 14 CFR Part 135, departed St. Paul, Alaska, and the destination was St. George. A visual flight rules flight plan was in effect. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the St. George Airport. The certificated airline transport captain, the first officer, and the eleven passengers were not injured. The airplane received substantial damage. The Captain stated he was manipulating the controls at the time of the accident. AIRCRAFT INFORMATION The accident airplane is a twin-engine turbo prop configured with 18 passenger and two crew member seats. During the investigation, the Operator indicated a concern about the roll response of the airplane, due to the airplane's extended wings. The airplane's wings each had an extension of approximately 6 feet added. This modification was accomplished by the manufacturer. This placed the ailerons approximately 6 feet inboard from each of the wingtips. The Operator felt that the extended wings made the airplane more stable and less roll responsive during critical phases of flight. The manufacturer was contacted and the flight test data was examined. According to 14 CFR Part 23, during the approach phase, using a favorable combination of controls, it must be possible to roll the airplane from a steady 30 degree banked turn, through level, through a 30 degree opposite banked turn, a total angle of 60 degrees, within 7 seconds or less. This requirement must be met by rolling the airplane in each direction with the flaps in the landing position, the landing gear extended, all engines operating at the power required for a 3 degree approach, and the airplane trimmed at Vref. The flight test data examined showed that the airplane started at 21.6 degrees bank angle. The airplane was rolled through level to a 39.0 degree opposite bank angle in 6.1 seconds. METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION The New Saint George airport, located on Saint George Island, is equipped with an Automated Weather Observation System (AWOS). The AWOS was reporting weather prior to the accident. According to the information provided by the Captain and FAA Air Traffic Evaluation Division, Alaska Region, the weather reported by the AWOS was a ceiling of 300 feet overcast, visibility of 2.5 miles, temperature of 40 degrees Fahrenheit, winds from 150 degrees at 20 knots with gusts to 25 knots. According to Kenai Automated Flight Service Station, the Saint George Airport Manager called to report the accident and estimated the weather at the time of the accident as 100 foot overcast with the visibility at 1.5 miles with fog in the area. The airport manager was not certified as an official weather observer. The Captain stated that he received weather from the ASOS (Automated Surface Observation System) which showed the weather at Saint George Airport to be 200 foot overcast with 2 miles of visibility and improving conditions. According to the Alaska Supplement, the ASOS is the same as an AWOS-3 which reports altimeter settings, visibility, wind data, temperature and dewpoint, density altitude, and cloud and ceiling data. AIDS TO NAVIGATION There are no approved instrument approach procedures to the New Saint George Airport. The airport is equipped with a Non-directional Beacon (NDB) which is located on the airport. FLIGHT RECORDERS The airplane was equipped with a cockpit voice recorder. A review of the cockpit voice recorder tape showed that as the flight crew selected flaps one-half, they made comments concerning how poor the weather appeared. The Captain asked for gear down and commented that the speed was high. The Captain stated that unless he was able to see into the area of the airport he was not going to venture into the airport. The Captain stated: "there's the harbor, flaps full", and the first Officer responded "going." The First Officer then said "plus a few, power, Herman, power." This statement occurs as the audible stall warning horn sounds steadily. The stall warning horn stops and the sound of impact occurs approximately 1/2 second after the stall warning horn stops. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION According to the passenger statements and passenger interviews, the airplane was not aligned with the runway and appeared to be angling across the runway. One passenger did not feel the airplane was in a position to land. All the passengers felt the airplane bank to the right and remain in the bank until ground impact. Another passenger, Mr. Ed Zernia, stated that the flight to the Saint George Airport was low and they followed the shoreline. The airplane "popped up over a bluff" and was flying parallel to the runway very low. The airplane made a "swift turn to get over the runway" and the airplane never leveled off. During the flight crew interview, the Captain stated that he was able to see the runway approximately 1 mile away. He made a slight left turn to align for landing and the airspeed was 120 knots. The airplane drifted to the left edge of the runway due to the wind. The Captain stated that at this point the airplane was aligned with the left edge of the runway. He executed a right turn to line up on the runway. The Captain stated they crossed the runway's threshold approximately 50 feet above the ground. A diagram submitted by a passenger, Mr. Steven McClain, shows that the airplane did not cross the runway's threshold but crossed onto the runway from the right side. An interview with another passenger, Mr. Jeffery Arndt, who was seated on the right side of the airplane, stated he could see the entire runway from his window seat in the airplane. He stated the airplane was turning across the runway and he saw the wing hit the runway's surface.
failure of the captain to maintain proper altitude and wingtip clearance, while aligning the airplane with the runway before landing. His delay in aligning the aircraft with the runway was a related factor.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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