Accident PZL-Mielec C-145A (M28-05) Skytruck 08-0319,

ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 321005

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Date:	Sunday 18 December 2011
Time:	10:32
Type:	PZL-Mielec C-145A (M28-05) Skytruck
Owner/operator:	United States Air Force - USAF
Registration:	08-0319
MSN:	AJE 003-19
Year of manufacture:	2009
Total airframe hrs:	1164 hours
Cycles:	1273 flights
Engine model:	Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-65B
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 7
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed, written off
Category:	Accident
Location:	Walan Rabat Landing Zone - Afghanistan
Phase:	Landing
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	Qalat Airstrip
Destination airport:	Walan Rabat Landing Zone
Investigating agency:	USAF AIB
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
At 09:39 hours UTC on 18 December 2011, an M-28 Skytruck, operated by the U.S. Air Force, departed Kandahar Air Base, Afghanistan on a mission to pick up four passengers at Qalat, Afghanistan, transport them to Walan Rabat short takeoff and landing zone, transport two additional personnel from Walan Rabat back to Qalat, then return to Kandahar Air Base. The aircraft and crew were assigned or attached to the 318th Special Operations Squadron, 27th Special Operations Wing at Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico, and were deployed to the 318th Expeditionary Special Operations Squadron at Kandahar Air Base, Afghanistan.
After an uneventful stop at Qalat to onload four passengers and their bags, the crew flew a 20-minute leg to Walan Rabat. Surface winds at Walan Rabat were 190 degrees at 14 knots gusting to 17 knots, 30 degrees off a direct tailwind for runway 34. Because the landing zone has a three percent upslope for runway 34, and a 1,500-foot mountain exists 1,5 miles to the north, the pilot elected to land with a tailwind on runway 34, the preferred landing direction.
Walan Rabat Landing Zone is a 1,756-foot long, 31-foot wide, semi-prepared dirt strip with poorly defined boundaries. The landing zone was marked with AMP-3 markings, commonly called a "box-and-one" with colored panels. The pilot consulted a wind component chart and incorrectly calculated the tailwind component, mistakenly believing it was within the allowable limit for landing the M-28. The pilot flew a shallow 2,5-3 degree approach due to the upsloping landing zone. At approximately 1,000 feet short of the landing zone, the pilot visually acquired the AMP-3 markings and landed the aircraft at 10:32 UTC. After a firmer than normal landing, the aircraft veered to the right and departed the prepared surface.
The nose gear encountered uneven terrain and collapsed, causing the aircraft to flip tailover-nose. The crew and passengers then egressed the aircraft through the copilots window. There were no serious injuries to crew or passengers.

CONCLUSION:
The AIB president found no clear and convincing evidence of the primary cause of the accident.
He determined by a preponderance of evidence that the Landing Zone Condition, CrossMonitoring Performance, Task/Mission-in-Progress Re-planning, Landing with an Excessive Tailwind, and Aircraft Engine Anomalies substantially contributed to the mishap, ultimately causing the mishap aircraft to veer off the prepared surface into rough terrain, resulting in the collapse of the nose landing gear and destruction of the aircraft.

Accident investigation: