Incident Overview

Date: Friday 29 November 2013
Aircraft Type: Cessna 208B Grand Caravan
Owner/operator: Era Alaska
Registration Number: N12373
Location: 1,6 km SE of Saint Mary’s Airport, AK (KSM) – ÿ United States of America
Phase of Flight: Approach
Status: Destroyed, written off
Casualties: Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 10
Component Affected: Cessna 208B Grand CaravanCessna 208B Grand Caravan
Investigating Agency: NTSBNTSB
Category: Accident
A Cessna 208B Grand Caravan crashed near Saint Mary’s Airport, Alaska, resulting in the deaths of the pilot and three passengers. The flight, operating flight 7H-1453 from Bethel to Mountain Village, was aborted due to deteriorating weather conditions, specifically instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) and low visibility, and subsequently impacted an open area of snow-covered tundra. The pilot?s decision to initiate a visual flight rules approach into IMC, coupled with the flight coordinators? release of the flight without risk assessment, led to the controlled flight into terrain.A Cessna 208B Grand Caravan crashed near Saint Mary’s Airport, Alaska, resulting in the deaths of the pilot and three passengers. The flight, operating flight 7H-1453 from Bethel to Mountain Village, was aborted due to deteriorating weather conditions, specifically instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) and low visibility, and subsequently impacted an open area of snow-covered tundra. The pilot?s decision to initiate a visual flight rules approach into IMC, coupled with the flight coordinators? release of the flight without risk assessment, led to the controlled flight into terrain.

Description

A Cessna 208B Grand Caravan operated by Era Alaska crashed near Saint Mary’s Airport, Alaska. The pilot and three passengers were killed in the accident. Six passengers sustained serious injuries. The airplane operated flight 7H-1453 from Bethel were it took off at 17:41. The flight was planned to make an intermediate stop at Mountain Village, but did not land there due to deteriorating weather. Night, instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) prevailed at the St. Mary’s airport at the time of the accident. The airplane was seen to overfly the airport at low altitude. Shortly afterwards the flight impacted an open area of snow-covered tundra. About 8 minutes before the accident, at 18:16, a weather report indicated: Wind, 230 degrees at 7 knots; visibility, 3 statute miles; overcast at 300 feet above ground level; temperature, 18 degrees F (-7,8 degrees C); altimeter, 30.01 inches Hg. PROBABLE CAUSE: “The pilot’s decision to initiate a visual flight rules approach into an area of instrument meteorological conditions at night and the flight coordinators’ release of the flight without discussing the risks with the pilot, which resulted in the pilot experiencing a loss of situational awareness and subsequent controlled flight into terrain. Contributing to the accident were the operator’s inadequate procedures for operational control and flight release and its inadequate training and oversight of operational control personnel. Also contributing to the accident was the Federal Aviation Administration’s failure to hold the operator accountable for correcting known operational deficiencies and ensuring compliance with its operational control procedures.”

Source of Information

http://web.archive.org/web/20160409072220/http://www.ktuu.com:80/news/news/troopers-respond-to-reports-of-missing-plane-near-saint-marys/23220454http://web.archive.org/web/20160409072220/http://www.ktuu.com:80/news/news/troopers-respond-to-reports-of-missing-plane-near-saint-marys/23220454

Primary Cause

Pilot’s decision to initiate a visual flight rules approach into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) at night and the flight coordinators’ release of the flight without discussing the risks with the pilot, which resulted in a loss of situational awareness and subsequent controlled flight into terrain.Pilot’s decision to initiate a visual flight rules approach into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) at night and the flight coordinators’ release of the flight without discussing the risks with the pilot, which resulted in a loss of situational awareness and subsequent controlled flight into terrain.

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