ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 157332
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| Date: | Friday 28 June 2013 |
| Time: | 10:40 |
| Type: |  Beechcraft B55 Baron |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N5JG |
| MSN: | TC-1725 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 4805 hours |
| Engine model: | Continental IO-520SERIES |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | S of Cantwell , AK -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Fairbanks International Airport, AK (FAI/PAFA) |
| Homer, AK | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The accident pilot was the organizer of 18 airplanes participating in a group sight-seeing tour of remote Alaskan locations. The 18 airplanes were divided into two groups, and each group had a leader. The accident airplane served as a separate leader for the entire group and departed about 10 minutes before the other two groups to make arrangements at their next destination and to check weather along their intended route of flight, which took them through a mountain pass.
One of the group leader pilots reported that, as he approached the mountain pass, weather conditions began to deteriorate with low clouds, haze, and restricted visibility. He subsequently received a radio broadcast from another airplane in the area, which indicated that the mountain pass was not open due to poor weather conditions, so he chose to land his group at a nearby airport. The other group leader pilot stated that, after hearing that the first group was going to land at the nearby airport, he also chose to land his group there.
The accident airplane’s fragmented wreckage was discovered near the summit of the mountain pass in an area of brush and tundra-covered terrain at an elevation of about 2,370 feet mean sea level near the area where the second group leader turned around. A pilot-rated witness standing on the ground about the time of the accident stated that he observed an airplane flying in and out of the clouds at an altitude of about 400 feet above ground level (agl). Weather at the time of the accident was broken clouds about 250 to 300 feet agl, overcast clouds about 350 feet agl, with thin wispy fog hanging in the trees.
Postaccident examination of the airframe and engines revealed no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Given the lack of mechanical anomalies, the reported weather conditions, the two group leader pilot statements, and the witness statement, it is likely that the accident pilot continued visual flight into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in an in-flight collision with mountainous terrain.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s continued visual flight into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in an in-flight collision with mountainous terrain.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
Location
Images:
Accident site near Cantwell (photo: Alaska Department of Public Safety)
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 29-Jun-2013 14:24 | harro | Added |
| 30-Jun-2013 21:20 | Geno | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Source] |
| 02-Jul-2013 19:28 | Alpine Flight | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Narrative] |
| 03-Jul-2013 09:33 | harro | Updated [[Time, Aircraft type, Narrative]] |
| 26-Aug-2014 06:01 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:28 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 29-Nov-2017 08:46 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Operator, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 05-Jun-2023 21:14 | Ron Averes | Updated [[Operator, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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