Hooper Bay, AK, USA
N454SF
Cessna 208
While taking off from a snow-covered runway in instrument meteorological conditions, the pilot stated that the airplane was not gaining speed as expected, but that there was inadequate runway remaining on which to abort the takeoff. The airplane became airborne, and the stall warning horn activated; the airplane subsequently settled back onto the ground, the nose landing gear impacted terrain, and the airplane came to rest upright off the departure end of the runway, resulting in substantial damage.
On February 4, 2020, about 1550 Alaska standard time, a Cessna 208B airplane, N454SF, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident near Hooper Bay, Alaska. The pilot and seven passengers were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 scheduled passenger flight. According to the pilot, the departure was delayed about 3 hours due to the weather conditions on the day of the accident, which included snow, low visibility, and flat light. Before departing, the pilot received runway reports from the company dispatch that all destination airport runways were suitable. After performing a risk analysis and gathering more weather information, the pilot departed on the flight. While en route to the first airport, he chose to cancel the second leg of the flight due to deteriorating weather conditions, and he informed company dispatch that he would return with all of the passengers to the departure airport. After landing and loading the passengers and baggage, the pilot taxied the airplane for departure. He stated that flat light conditions prevailed and that it was difficult to see down the runway or have any depth perception. He initiated the takeoff with 20° of flaps selected and noticed no issues during the initial takeoff roll. He then noticed that the airspeed was not increasing fast enough but decided that there was inadequate runway remaining on which to abort the takeoff. The airplane became airborne, and the stall warning horn activated as the airplane cleared the departure end of the runway. The pilot attempted to maneuver the airplane in ground effect, but the airplane settled, and the main landing gear impacted the snow-covered terrain. The nose wheel impacted the snow, and the airplane came to rest upright about 150 ft from the end of the runway. The engine mount sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot added that there was about 3 to 5 inches of wet, heavy snow on the runway at the time of departure. The Chart Supplement Alaska discussed the airport information for HPB effective January 30, 2020, and stated under airport remarks: - Unattended. Runway condition not monitored; recommend visual inspection prior to using.
The pilot’s decision to depart from a contaminated runway, and his failure to make a timely decision to abort the takeoff when the airplane was not accelerating as expected. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s decision to depart in limited visibility conditions, which likely affected his ability to determine the available runway distance remaining during the takeoff.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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