Estado:	Final
Fecha:	02 MAR 2003
Hora:	15:04
Tipo:	Cessna 208B Grand Caravan
Operador:	Bering Air
Registración:	N205BA
Numéro de série:	208B-0890
Año de Construcción:	2001
Horas Totales de la Célula:	2082
Motores:	1 Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-114A
Tripulación:	Fatalidades: 0 / Ocupantes: 1
Pasajeros:	Fatalidades: 0 / Ocupantes: 0
Total:	Fatalidades: 0 / Ocupantes: 1
Daños en la Aeronave:	Considerable
Consecuencias:	Unknown
Ubicación:	1,6 km (1 milles) W of Kotzebue Airport, AK (OTZ) (Estados Unidos de América)
Fase:	Aproximación (APR)
Naturaleza:	Ferry/Posicionado
Aeropuerto de Salida:	Shungnak Airport, AK (SHG), Estados Unidos de América
Aeropuerto de Llegada:	Kotzebue Airport, AK (OTZ/PAOT), Estados Unidos de América

Descripción:
After having been cleared to enter the Kotzebue airspace, the pilot established a GPS waypoint 4 miles (6,4 km) from runway 08 and descended to 1,000 feet. He continued inbound and descended to an altitude of 300 feet. At one mile from the airport, the pilot said he looked up from the instrument panel but could not see the airport. He also stated that he was in a whiteout condition. The airplane collided with the snow-covered sea ice, short of the runway threshold.

PROBABLE CAUSE: "The pilot's continued VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions, and his failure to maintain altitude/clearance above the ground, resulting in a collision with snow and ice covered terrain during the final approach phase of a VFR landing. Factors in the accident were whiteout conditions and snow-covered terrain."

Fuentes:
» NTSB ANC03LA029