14 CFR Public Use
Accident occurred Sunday, September 30, 2012 in Anchorage, AK
Aircraft: QUEST AIRCRAFT COMPANY LLC KODIAK 100, registration: N745
Injuries: 1 Uninjured.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. : NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this public aircraft accident report.
On September 30, 2012 about 1550 Alaska daylight time, an amphibious float-equipped Quest Aircraft Kodiak 100 airplane, N745, sustained substantial damage while landing at the Lake Hood Seaplane Base, Anchorage, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) cross-country government flight, under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. The airplane was operated by the U.S. Department of Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The commercial certificated pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a VFR flight plan had been filed. The flight originated at the King Salmon Airport, King Salmon, Alaska, about 1300, and had completed a planned stop in Kenai, Alaska, before continuing to Anchorage, the flights final destination for the day.
During an interview with the National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge (IIC) on October 2, the pilot said the accident flight originated at the King Salmon Airport, stopped briefly in Kenai, and continued to Anchorage. Before landing, the pilot said she configured the airplane for a water landing, by confirming the wheels were in the up position. She noted that her airspeed during the approach to the lake was slightly faster than normal. During touchdown, the airplane veered to the left, and then to the right. The airplane then veered violently to the right, as though it “caught a float” and the right wing struck the water. The airplane then pivoted abruptly to the right, cartwheeled, and the wreckage began to sink.
The pilot stated that there were no pre-accident anomalies with the airplane. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings, empennage, and fuselage during the accident.
The accident airplane was equipped with a set of Wipline 7000 amphibious floats, which were designed specifically for the Quest Kodiak 100 airplane. A postaccident inspection confirmed that the wheels were in the up position.
The closest weather reporting facility is Anchorage International Airport, approximately 1 mile west of the accident site. About 8 minutes after the accident, at 2353, an aviation routine weather report (METAR) at Anchorage, Alaska, reported wind calm, visibility, 10 statute miles, few clouds at 6000 feet, scattered clouds at 13,000 feet, scattered clouds at 20,000 feet, temperature, 45 degrees F; dew point 29 degrees F; altimeter, 30.02 inHG.
At the time of the accident a pilot rated witness standing on the north shoreline of Lake Spenard stated the airplane appeared to touchdown in a slight nose-low attitude. After touchdown the airplane veered left and right, and rolled from side-to-side. The airplane nosed over abruptly, and came to rest inverted.
BILL ROTH / Anchorage Daily News
A worker on a rescue boat places containment boom around U.S. Dept. of Interior float plane that crashed while landing on Spenard Lake on Sunday, September 30, 2012. The female pilot was able to safely exit the turbine Quest Kodiak amphibious float plane and get to shore.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska— A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service float plane crashed in Lake Spenard Sunday afternoon, and the pilot -- the sole occupant -- made her own way out to safety, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
Clint Johnson, chief of the Alaska region for the safety board, said he spoke briefly to the pilot, who was shaken up by the ordeal but didn't suffer physical injuries. "Just cold and wet," he said.
He declined to identify her, saying the safety board doesn't release pilot names. The agency is investigating the crash of the turboprop Kodiak, an amphibious plane with both floats and wheels manufactured by Quest Aircraft Co.
"What she said is after touchdown she felt a grabbing of one of the floats," Johnson said. "The next thing she knew, the plane was cart-wheeling upside down."
He didn't yet know how she escaped the plane underwater. Two nearby planes started up and came to her aid, helping her to shore, he said. He plans to conduct a more in-depth interview Monday and also to inspect the plane, which he said appears to have been seriously damaged.
The amphibious plane is leaking fuel and under water. It was surrounded by containment boom on Sunday afternoon.
The National Transportation Safety Board will examine it after the Department of Interior, which includes the Fish and Wildlife Service, hauls it out of the water and into its hangar.
The pilot had dropped off a crew on the Kenai Peninsula and was returning to Anchorage when she lost control trying to land in the east-west water lanes, Johnson said.
Lake Spenard is part of the busy Lake Hood float plane basin. On its Web site, Quest describes the Kodiak as a top performer in difficult conditions.
http://www.adn.com
The NTSB confirms that a pilot escaped injury after a Kodiak plane crashed into Lake Spenard. She was the only person on board, and the NTSB says no one else was hurt.
Clint Johnson with the NTSB says the plane was owned and operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Johnson said the plane lost control during touchdown, which caused it to crash. Johnson said the east-west water lane at the airport was closed for arrivals and departures.
NTSB said they are in the formative stages of the plane crash investigation.
Read more:
http://www.ktuu.com
http://questaircraft.com
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 745 Make/Model: K100 Description: KODIAK 100 FLOATS
Date: 09/30/2012 Time: 2352
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: None Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: Substantial
LOCATION
City: ANCHORAGE State: AK Country: US
DESCRIPTION
AIRCRAFT ON LANDING AT LAKE HOOD, FLIPPED OVER, ANCHORAGE, AK
INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 0
# Crew: 1 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Pass: 0 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
OTHER DATA
Activity: Unknown Phase: Landing Operation: OTHER
FAA FSDO: ANCHORAGE, AK (AL03) Entry date: 10/01/2012
http://registry.faa.gov/N745
