Cessna 208B accident near Chignik Lake, AK
On May 1, 2017, a Cessna 208B (airplane) was involved in an accident near Chignik Lake, AK. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- May 1, 2017
- Place
- Chignik Lake, AK
- Aircraft
- Cessna 208B · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 56.140°N, 158.805°W
- NTSB ID
- 20170502X12758
Official records · ANC17FA021
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn May 1, 2017, about 1350 Alaska daylight time, a Cessna 208B airplane, N803TH, sustained substantial damage after impacting steep, mountainous terrain near Chignik Lake, Alaska. The airline transport pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated by Grant Aviation, Inc., as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 135 non-scheduled mail contract flight. Instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) existed at the accident site and company flight following procedures were in effect for the visual flight rules flight, which departed Port Heiden Airport (PAPH), Port Heiden, Alaska, at 1325, destined for Perryville Airport (PAPE), Perryville, Alaska. The pilot's flight and duty records indicated that he reported for duty about 0800 the morning of the accident. The pilot was scheduled for a six-segment route the day of the accident, originating from King Salmon Airport (PAKN), King Salmon, Alaska; the accident occurred on the second segment. The flight departed on the first segment at 1215 and proceeded to PAPH, arriving at 1313 with one passenger, who disembarked at PAPH. The passenger, who was a private pilot who often flew on Grant Aviation flights, reported that the pilot flew the segment lower than usual due to low clouds and that the pilot flew through clouds during the flight. The village agent who assisted the pilot on the ground stated that he appeared to be in good spirits. The airplane departed PAPH at 1325. The destination airport was about 80 miles south and located in a remote coastal area that did not have official weather reporting
Probable cause
The pilot's continued visual flight rules flight into an area of mountainous terrain and instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in controlled flight into terrain (CFIT). Contributing to the accident was the company's failure to provide the pilot with CFIT-avoidance recurrent simulator training as required by their CFIT avoidance program and the company's inadequate flight risk assess
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Browse: Alaska · Cessna aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.