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| Date: | Sunday 2 June 2024 |
| Time: | 16:00 |
| Type: |  Cessna 207A Stationair 8 |
| Owner/operator: | Grant Aviation Inc |
| Registration: | N9651M |
| MSN: | 20700715 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1981 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Bethel Airport (BET/PABE), Bethel, AK -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Take off |
| Nature: | Cargo |
| Departure airport: | Bethel Airport, AK (BET/PABE) |
| Kwigillingok Airport, AK (KWK/PAGG) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On June 2, 2024, about 1600 Alaska daylight time, a Cessna 207A airplane, N9651M, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Bethel, Alaska. The commercial pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated by Grant Aviation as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 cargo flight.
The pilot was performing a short-field takeoff procedure with an airplane that was near its maximum gross weight. The airplane’s operating handbook specified that the short-field takeoff procedure required the use of flaps until the airplane had reached an indicated airspeed greater than 80 knots. The pilot reported that, during the initial climb, he felt the airplane sink and saw the wing flaps retract in his peripheral vision. The pilot pushed the airplane’s nose down to gain airspeed; however, the airplane was too low to gain sufficient airspeed for continued flight, and subsequently landed hard on the runway, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage and empennage.
Examination of the flap system revealed that the flaps were fully retracted at the time of impact, and the flap position lever was also in the retracted position. An operational check of the flap control system was conducted in accordance with the airplane service manual and no abnormalities were observed.
Given the position of the flaps and flap position lever at the time of the accident and the lack of anomalies during postaccident operational testing of the flap system, it is likely that the pilot either retracted the wing flaps during the takeoff initial climb at an altitude and airspeed that was insufficient to sustain flight, or attempted a short-field takeoff with the flaps improperly configured (retracted), which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and subsequent hard landing.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s improper short-field takeoff procedure, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and subsequent hard landing.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.kyuk.org/public-safety/2024-06-02/single-engine-plane-crashes-on-takeoff-in-bethel-no-injury-reported
https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=194391
https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=9651M
https://www.airport-data.com/images/aircraft/000/495/495895.jpg (photo)
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 28 December 1988 | N9651M | Baker Aviation | 0 | Kivalina, AK | |
sub |
| 10 February 1991 | N9651M | 0 | Kivalina, AK | |
sub |
Location
Images:
Photo: NTSB
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 03-Jun-2024 16:59 | Geno | Added |
| 03-Jun-2024 18:37 | ASN | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Source, Damage, ] |
| 03-Jun-2024 18:38 | ASN | Updated [Operator, ] |
| 04-Jun-2024 03:25 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Operator, Nature, Source, Narrative, Category, ] |
| 17-Jul-2024 14:25 | Captain Adam | Updated [Time, Nature, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category, Accident report, ] |
| 25-Apr-2025 08:53 | Captain Adam | Updated [Source, Narrative, Photo, ] |
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