Alaska L-39 NTSB Preliminary Released...

[FN FAL]

I usually don't post on Alaska crashes, because the conditions up there are foreign to me and from what I hear, are pretty hostile. However, this L-39 prelim is pretty wild.

According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) personnel, the airplane was issued a special ferry permit by an inspector with the Van Nuys Flight Standards District Office (FSDO), Van Nuys, California, on January 23, 2006, with the options to fly VFR/IFR day/night from Anchorage, Alaska, to Seattle, Washington. The ferry permit was signed by an FAA certificated mechanic, certifying that the airplane was safe for a ferry flight.

According to the operator, the accident airplane departed Palmer, Alaska, on January 23, about 1500, with another L-39MS airplane, with an intended destination of Ketchikan. Due to adverse weather conditions in Ketchikan, the two airplanes diverted to Sitka, and remained there until January 25. The accident airplane pilot obtained two weather briefings on January 25, and departed for Bellingham, Washington, without filing a flight plan. Due to adverse wind conditions along the planned route, the pilot diverted to Ketchikan, and obtained an IFR en route clearance about 1210.

The pilot was cleared for the instrument landing system (ILS) approach to runway 11 at Ketchikan, and about 1248, the pilot reported via radio to the Ketchikan Flight Service Station (FSS) that he had the airfield in-sight, and stated he would attempt to circle to land on runway 29 at Ketchikan.

A pilot-rated witness reported that he saw the airplane descend from the clouds, from about 200 feet above the waters of the Tongass Narrows, near Peninsula Point, which is about 2 miles from the crash site. The witness indicated that the visibility was about 3/4 mile in wet blowing snow, and the wind at the time was from the northwest, about 30 knots. The witness indicated he could see the outline of the Alaska Marine Highway vessel "Columbia" as it was southeast bound toward the Ketchikan ferry terminal.

The witness said the accident airplane, with the landing gear down, descended on about a 20 to 25 degree angle at a high rate of descent to the surface of the water, about 200 yards from the shore. The airplane struck the surface twice, each time gaining about 10 feet before skipping on the surface for a third time. The first two water impacts produced an extensive spray of water that obscured his view of the airplane. The airplane then gained altitude and climbed out of his line of sight.

Several witnesses aboard the vessel "Columbia" reported seeing a large splash in the water between 3/4 to 1 mile in front of the vessel. They thought the splash was a whale, but due the limited visibility of 1/2 to 3/4 mile, none reported seeing or hearing an airplane. After the water impact, other witnesses on shore reported seeing the airplane at tree-top level over the town of Ketchikan, and hearing engine sounds, but then the engine stopped making any sound. The pilot was observed to eject from the airplane, but the ejection sequence was incomplete, and he struck the ground while still in his ejection seat.

The unoccupied airplane collided with the ground in a large open lot on an easterly heading, struck the western bank of Carlanna Creek, continued over the creek and struck a trailer home that was occupied by two persons, crashed into several unoccupied automobiles, and came to rest in another open lot. Ketchikan Fire Department personnel responded to the scene and evacuated residents, and began fighting the trailer fire and the burning airplane fuselage. While fighting the airplane fire, the rear ejection seat was blown out of the fuselage by the seat's initial ejection charge, landing about 150 feet from the wreckage. The seat's second stage rocket motor did not discharge, and it was rendered safe by military personnel on the evening of January 28. Portions of airplane wreckage were located in Carlanna Creek, and within the interior of the trailer. Further examination of the airplane engine is pending.

 

[81Horse]

Wow. That's a story, all right.

... the airplane was issued a special ferry permit by an inspector with the Van Nuys Flight Standards District Office (FSDO), Van Nuys, California, on January 23, 2006, with the options to fly VFR/IFR day/night from Anchorage, Alaska, to Seattle, Washington. ...

Van Nuys???

 

[agpilot34]

That's where the owner was based, correct?

 

[Ill Mitch]

That's where the owner was based, correct?

The airplane was owned by Air USA of Illinois, but the registration shows in care of someone in Vegas. The pilot was a former military guy who worked for Air USA's alter ego, Red Air, Inc. (I think that's the name).

 

[agpilot34]

Hmm... dont know why they would have gotten a ferry permit from Van Nuys FSDO, then. Definitely a strange story.

 

[epic!]

some guy at the airport i fly out of has one of those, very cool aircraft

 

[agpilot34]

They ARE a neat little toy. There are usually four of them that come to a yearly warbird fly in close to here and they sell rides to anyone that wants to cough up the 400 bucks to go. That gets you about 30 minutes of actual air time.

 

[aussiefly]

damn....poor bugger. It sucks that the 2nd stage seat rockets didnt deploy. In the military world are ejection seat failures fairly rare ??? or is it really a seat check/maintanence issue.

Anyway, certainly a wild NTSB report. Reading this sort of stuff really gives me the shivers.

 

[FN FAL]

They ARE a neat little toy. There are usually four of them that come to a yearly warbird fly in close to here and they sell rides to anyone that wants to cough up the 400 bucks to go. That gets you about 30 minutes of actual air time.

Air show war bird rides, that's gotta be fun.

I knew a guy that had one of those Magister training jets and he was doing the air show circuit with his. His air show career was cut short when he was doing a low pass down the runway and a tip tank came loose and sent them out of control. The lady that was riding in the jet had won the ride in a contest and so did her husband. The husband rode the plane on Friday and the wife had to come back on Saturday to take her turn because of weather or something, they were just married.

 

[agpilot34]

That sucks. Yeah, I've talked to a couple of guys that went up with them last year, and they said it was a fun ride. I've been putting a few dollars back in a little secret fund and (secret because my wife would absolutely kill me if she knew I spent $400 on an airplane ride!) thinking about maybe going up with them this year, just to say I've done it.