N313RS

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On July 20, 1996, at 1506 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Douglas DC-6A airplane, N313RS, registered to and operated by Northern Air Cargo as Flight 33, had an in-flight fire and subsequent failure of the right wing while in the traffic pattern at the Russian Mission Airport, Russian Mission, Alaska. The cargo flight, operating under 14 CFR Part 121, departed Emmonak, Alaska, at 1410, and the destination was Aniak, Alaska. A visual rules flight plan was filed and visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The certificated airline transport pilot-in-command, the copilot, the flight engineer, and the jump seat rider, were fatally injured. The airplane was destroyed by impact and fire.

According to witnesses from the village of Russian Mission, they saw the DC-6 pass over the airport from west to east at an altitude of 300 to 400 feet above the ground. Witnesses stated that a fire engulfed the inboard engine on the right side of the airplane. The airplane flew across the Yukon River and made a turn onto the downwind leg. Witnesses reported smoking pieces from the airplane were falling to the ground while the airplane flew the downwind leg. The airplane turned base leg and continued the turn to final. During this turn, the right wing folded upward and the airplane rolled to the right and nosed into the ground approximately 3/4 of a mile short of runway 35.

WITNESSES

During an interview with Mr. Jack Hopstad, he stated that he heard a large plane. He did not see the first pass, only the second pass. He looked up and saw a DC-6 cross the airport at midfield. He noticed that the right inboard engine was on fire or missing. The airplane turned downwind, then base leg. During the base leg, while the airplane was turning, Mr. Hopstad stated that the wing buckled upward on the side that was on fire. He could not tell if the landing gear was up or down. He stated he saw the airplane for less than 1.5 minutes. He viewed the entire flight from his house which is situated on a hill overlooking the runway. He estimated the airplane's altitude at 350 to 400 feet above ground level (agl).

Another witness interviewed at Russian Mission stated he was standing on the airport parking ramp. He saw the airplane fly the downwind leg, make the turn from downwind to base, and as the airplane was turning during the base leg he saw the right wing fold up. The airplane rolled over and nosed into the ground. He stated there were no children or other people on the runway. He was the only one on the airport and he was standing on the parking ramp. There were children on the beach about 1/4 mile beyond the end of runway 35.

INJURIES TO PERSONS

All occupants were fatally injured.

DAMAGE TO AIRCRAFT

The airplane was destroyed by fire and impact forces.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

The captain was the holder of an airline transport pilot certificate with type ratings in the DC-6 and DC-7 airplanes. He also held a flight engineer certificate for reciprocating engine powered airplanes. According to company records, the pilot had a total flight time of 14,200 hours; 7,200 hours in make and model. He received a biennial flight review in the form of a company pilot proficiency check in the DC-6 airplane on April 20, 1996. He was issued a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Class 1 Medical Certificate dated May 21, 1996, and he was required to wear corrective lenses.

According to company records, the captain was trained as a flight engineer and copilot in the DC-6 airplane in April of 1988. The records show that he successfully passed a Captain's proficiency check in the DC-6 airplane on October 30,1995. The records show the Captain attended a Crew Resource Management class on November 18-19, 1990.

The first officer was the holder of a commercial pilot certificate. He was not type rated in the DC-6 airplane. He also held a flight engineer certificate for reciprocating engine powered airplanes. The company records show he had a total flight time of 9,000 hours, with 4,500 in the DC-6 airplane. He received a biennial flight review, in the form of a flight check in the DC-6 airplane, on May 27, 1996. He was issued an FAA class 2 medical certificate on August 31, 1996 which required him to possess corrective lenses.

Company training records show that the first officer received an initial flight engineer flight check on June 5, 1989. He then received his initial flight check as a first officer on May 23, 1994. He attended a Cockpit Resource Management class on November 18-19, 1990.

The flight engineer was the holder of a commercial pilot certificate. He did not have a DC-6 type rating. He was also the holder of a flight engineer certificate with a reciprocating engine powered airplane rating. He was the holder of an airframe and powerplant mechanic certificate. The flight engineer was issued an FAA second class medical certificate, dated February 29, 1996, that required him to wear corrective lenses for distant vision, and possess lenses that corrected for near vision.

Company records show that the flight engineer received his initial flight check as a flight engineer on December 7, 1994. He last received recurrent ground training on January 19-20, 1996, and a proficiency check, as a flight engineer, on June 29, 1996.

AIRCRAFT INFORMATION

N313RS, a DC-6A airplane, serial number 44663, gross weight of 103,800 pounds, was equipped with four Pratt and Whitney R2800-Cb3 engines rated at 2,400 horsepower each. The table below lists the total time and time since inspection for each engine. Engine times: total time time since inspected 1 690 109 2 1,199 3 3 2,354 109 4 1,022 109

The aircraft was on a continuous airworthiness inspection system and was last inspected on April 4, 1996. The airplane had flown 109 hours since that inspection.

The company records show that the number 3 engine was overhauled by Precision Airmotive of Everett, Washington.

AERODROME INFORMATION

The Russian Mission Airport, the airport on which the airplane was intending to land, has a gravel runway which is 2,700 feet long, and 50 feet wide. The runway aligns with 350 and 170 degrees. The field elevation is 70 feet above mean sea level. The approach path to runway 35 is over the Yukon River, an island, a slough, and then the runway.

Examination of the airport showed there are two large metal fuel storage tanks situated approximately 200 feet beyond the departure end of runway 35. Beyond the storage tanks the villagers park their boats on the beach. There were people and kids standing and playing around the boats on the beach.

The aircraft parking ramp is located on the west side of the runway, at the north end (departure end) of runway 35.

There is no control tower or services available at the Russian Mission Airport. The airport is located in class "G" airspace.

FLIGHT RECORDERS

The airplane was not equipped with a flight data recorder. The airplane was equipped with a cockpit voice recorder (CVR). The CVR was sent to and analyzed at the NTSB Flight Recorder Laboratory in Washington, D.C. .

The following text/paraphrase was excerpted from the information obtained from the cockpit voice recorder. At 1455:13, the cockpit area microphone picked up the sound of a shudder. The captain asks, "which one is it?" at the same time the sound of the fire bell starts. The captain states "number 3", and the first officer states, "number four." At 1455:25, the flight engineer says "firewall selector." The captain repeats the statement and the first officer says, "selector." At 1455:28, the sound of the fire bell stops and one second later the flight engineer says, "pull." The first officer says the number 3 engine is still burning. The captain directs the discharge of the right hand bank. At 1455:37, the first officer asks, "are we feathered?" An unidentified voice says no, and the captain directs someone to "feather it." At 1455:47, the flight engineer and the first officer identify and attempt to feather propeller number 3. At 1455:54, the sound of the landing gear warning horn starts and the engineer states, "okay there he goes."

At 1456:06, the first officer still sees a fire. At 1456:17, the flight engineer states: "she's windin'up run away." The first officer says that the propeller on number three is still not completely feathered, and he refers to the, "speed going down too." The captain called for METO power. The captain takes control of the airplane at 1457:11, and calls for the before landing check. At 1457:43, the captain asks if number 3 is feathered. The first officer replies, "still not feathered-feather three." At 1457:48, the flight engineer feathers number 3 once again and states, "there it goes, three is feathering." The first officer confirms that number 3 actually feathered, but said they were still indicating a fire. The captain indicates at this time that he is going to land at Holy Cross.

The nearest airport, and the airport over which this event took place, was Russian Mission.

While the captain was preparing the airplane for landing the first officer stated that the fire is starting to go out. He then confirmed that they are not indicating a fire anymore. The captain asked for METO power. The flight engineer applied METO power and the first officer exclaimed, "whoop I saw another...flicker." The captain remarked that if the fire is out he would rather not land "here." At 1459:01, the sound of the fire bell starts. The captain stated that he is going to go for a downwind for this runway. At 1459:18, the flight engineer stated that he was smelling something. At 1459:56, the flight engineer indicated there was smoke in the cockpit.

The CVR transcript shows that the flight crew was preparing the airplane fo...