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N363JH accident description

Alaska map... Alaska list
Crash location 61.167778°N, 150.001944°W
Nearest city Anchorage, AK
61.218056°N, 149.900278°W
4.9 miles away
Tail number N363JH
Accident date 21 Oct 2017
Aircraft type Textron Aviation B200
Additional details: None

NTSB Factual Report

On October 21, 2017, about 0536 Alaska daylight time, a Textron Aviation (formerly Raytheon Aircraft Company) Beech B200 airplane, N363JH, sustained substantial damage following an unintentional gear-up landing at the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (PANC), Anchorage, Alaska. The certificated airline transport pilot, 2 flight medics, and one patient sustained no injuries. The airplane was registered to and was operated by Bering Air, Inc., Nome, Alaska as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 instrument flight rules air ambulance flight, operating as Medevac 363JH. Dark night, visual meteorological conditions were present at the time of the accident and flight following procedures were utilized by the operator. The airplane departed from the Nome Airport, Nome, Alaska, about 0320.

The pilot reported that the purpose of the flight was to transport a patient to a medical treatment facility in Anchorage. He said that as the flight approached Anchorage, the Anchorage Air Route Traffic Control Center specialist on duty handed the flight over to Anchorage Approach Control, which cleared him to descend to 6,000 ft mean sea level (msl) followed with a vector heading and a descent clearance to 2,000 ft msl. As the flight descended through about 4,000 feet msl, he visually confirmed that the airport was in sight, and requested a visual approach. He reported the air traffic controller didn't respond to his initial request, and he requested a visual approach again. The controller responded back with a vector for the instrument landing system (ILS) runway 7R approach. The pilot reported his groundspeed was about 210 knots indicated, he joined the final approach course, and was cleared to land. He reported he believes he was given a vector heading that was too close to the final approach fix and the airplane went through the final approach fix. The pilot then received another heading and he re-established himself on the final approach course.

According to the pilot, as the airplane continued on the ILS 7R approach, he began to configure the airplane for landing by selecting the appropriate approach wing flaps setting, and he believed he selected the landing gear selector to the down position. However, he failed to confirm that the landing gear position-indicator lights showed "three green" indicting the landing gear was down, locked, and safe for landing. The pilot said that during touchdown with the landing gear not extended, the airplane's belly-mounted cargo pod contacted the runway, and the airplane began to veer to the right of the runway centerline. The 4 blade Hartzell propeller assemblies for each engine separated about midspan due to runway impact damage. The left side forward fuselage sustained minor damage from various separated propeller blade debris impacts. The airplane came to rest on the right side of the runway, and the occupants egressed without further incident.

A National Transportation Safety Board air safety investigator responded to the accident site, arriving about 1 hour after the accident. During a postaccident on scene inspection of the accident airplane, the landing gear selector was found in the down position.

The pilot reported in a written statement on October 24, that fatigue played a role with the landing gear up accident as he felt clear and alert at the beginning of the flight, but his alertness began to diminish at the beginning of the arrival phase of the flight.

The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.

The airplane was recovered and transported to secure location for a comprehensive damage assessment. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right engine mount system. Both Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-41 turboprop engines are pending disassembly for an internal damage assessment.

The airplane was not equipped with a cockpit voice recorder system or a flight data recorder system, nor were either required.

The closest official weather observation station is the PANC. At 0553, a METAR was reporting, in part, wind 360° at 7 knots; visibility 10 statute miles; clouds and ceiling 5,500 ft few, 7,500 ft broken; temperature 23° F; dew point 10° F; altimeter 29.28 inches of Mercury.

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