N72067

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On June 19, 2007, about 1103 Alaska daylight time, a Cessna 206 airplane, N72067, sustained substantial damage when it crashed on an island beach following a loss of engine power during cruise flight, about 8 miles south of Homer, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) local area air taxi flight under Title 14, CFR Part 135, when the accident occurred. The airplane was operated by Smokey Bay Air Inc., Homer. The commercial certificated pilot and the three passengers received serious injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and VFR company flight following procedures were in effect. The flight originated at the Seldovia Airport, Seldovia, Alaska, about 1052.

The pilot departed in the accident airplane from Homer, about 1014. The pilot had flown three flights earlier in the day, in a different airplane. The accident flight initially went to Seldovia, a distance of about 15 nautical miles (nm), and landed at 1028. The pilot then departed at 1030, and flew to Nanwalek, Alaska, a distance of about 8.7 nm, and landed at 1038. She picked up two passengers, one of which had been having complications from a pregnancy, and was en route to a hospital in Homer. That passenger was placed in the left seat of the middle row. The second passenger was also en route to Homer, and was placed in the right front seat. The flight departed Nanwalek at 1040, and landed at Seldovia at 1048. The pilot picked up another passenger, and 246 pounds of cargo. The last passenger was placed in the right seat of the middle row. The flight departed for Homer about 1052.

At 1059:04, the pilot made radio contact with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Flight Service Station (FSS) at Homer, and reported her position as "60 Foot Rock," at 2,200 feet msl. At 1100:12, the pilot made an emergency radio call, stating, "Mayday Mayday, I have an emergency." The pilot said she was having engine problems, and was approaching Cohen Island, which is about 6 miles from Homer. At 1100:47, the pilot told the FSS specialist "I'm inbound to the beach for Yukon Island."

At 1101:22, the pilot made a radio call stating, "Okay guys, my engine is surging, but I've got a little power for my climb up, I'm going to circle Yukon for a moment, and I'll let you know what's going on." At 1102:45, the pilot reported that she was going to make a beach landing on Yukon Island, and requested that the FAA notify her base (Smokey Bay Air). The last radio comment was made by the pilot at 1103:18 when she responded to a query from another company pilot about her location.

Several ground witnesses, and the right seat passenger, reported that the airplane's engine was heard to sputter and quit, restart for a moment, and quit again. The airplane began descending toward Yukon Island, which is about 8 nm from Seldovia. The pilot appeared to be headed for a beach at the southeast tip of the island. Numerous boaters and kayakers were on the beach in the intended landing area. The airplane then banked sharply to the right as it neared the beach, and collided with an unoccupied portion of the beach in a right wing, and nose low attitude. Several boaters and ground witnesses responded to the crash scene, and began emergency care for the occupants. Several of the responders were emergency care-givers. The pilot and passengers were air-lifted to Homer.

Two witnesses indicated that fuel was draining onto the sand from the bottom of the airplane. No comments were made from witnesses about fuel draining from the wings. Some witnesses indicated there was an odor of fuel at the wreckage, and other witnesses reported that they did not see or smell fuel at the wreckage.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

Pilot Information

The pilot held a commercial pilot certificate with airplane single-engine land, single-engine sea, multiengine land, and instrument airplane ratings. She also held a flight instructor certificate with airplane single-engine land, multiengine land, and instrument airplane ratings. Her most recent second-class medical certificate was issued on July 31, 2006, and contained no limitations.

In the Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120.1) submitted by the operator, the pilot's total aeronautical experience was listed as 3,095 hours, with 1,201 hours in the accident airplane make and model. The report noted that in the preceding 90 and 30 days prior to the accident, the pilot accrued a total of 133 hours and 28.6 hours, respectively.

The pilot's most recent FAA Part 135.293 check ride was on June 19, 2006.

Flight Operations

During an interview with the pilot on July 18, 2007, she recalled that on the day of the accident, she initially flew a different airplane, and then switched to the accident airplane. She remembered landing at Nanwalek and picking up two passengers, and then continuing to Seldovia to pick another passenger and cargo. She recalled departing for Homer, but had no further memory of the day until she was in a hospital in Anchorage, Alaska.

The pilot said that she and another pilot were the only pilots flying on the day of the accident. Her work schedule was usually 4 days on, and 3 days off. Her daily routine was to arrive at the company office and select an airplane from a list, as the availability of particular company airplanes varied due to maintenance scheduling. She would then preflight her airplane, and fuel it from the company fuel tank. Her normal fueling routine was to fill the left fuel tank, and put about 1 hour of fuel in the right fuel tank. She checked the level of fuel in each tank using a wooden dipstick. The pilot said that the dipstick had notches that corresponded to fuel levels, and its calibration could be checked by comparing it to calibration marks on a beam in the company hangar. She indicated that the dipsticks had been in use since before she began working for the company.

The pilot said that her usual route of flight from Seldovia, to Homer, was to depart the Seldovia Airport, and fly over the Seldovia Slough toward the coast while climbing to about 2,000 feet agl. She would then fly along the coast, over MacDonald Spit, then toward Homer Spit and the Homer Airport.

The distance from Homer to Seldovia is about 15 nm. From Seldovia to Nanwalek, and back to Seldovia, is about 17.4 nm. From Seldovia to Yukon Island is about 8 nm, for a total of about 40.4 nm.

The pilot said she never had a complete engine failure before.

Company Information

In the FAA's Operations Specifications issued to the company, the owner of the company is listed as president and chief pilot. Operational control of aircraft operations is the responsibility of the owner. The company routinely operated almost continual daily flights between Homer, Seldovia, Port Graham, and Nanwalek. The flights were not on a published schedule, but there were often several a day to each location.

The operator/owner reported that the usual practice for fueling the airplanes making continuous flights between Homer, Seldovia, Port Graham, and Nanwalek, was to fill the left fuel tank before the first flight of the day, which held 40 gallons of usable fuel. The right fuel tank usually only contained about 1 hour of fuel. Pilots would then make 2 to 4 round trips from Homer, and then refill the left fuel tank. The right tank remained with 1 hour of fuel.

According to the owner, fueling of the airplanes was done by each pilot, as needed. The company has a bulk fuel tank on the ramp. The pilots do not record the amount of fuel they add to their assigned airplanes throughout the day. The company only records the total amount of fuel used from the bulk tank at the end of the day. The operator provides wooden dowels, with capacity markings, for use by the pilots to accurately dip, and visually see, the amount of fuel in each tank. Each pilot has a daily time sheet to record their flight pay, but it is not a load manifest. Some pilots will note when they put fuel in their airplanes on their daily time sheet, but not the amount.

The operator reported that on June 18, the day before the accident, the accident airplane was flown by another company pilot. A review of that pilot's statement and his time sheet for the day before the accident, indicated that he filled the left fuel tank (40 gallons usable), measured the right fuel tank as having about 11 gallons (of which 9 gallons would be usable fuel), and departed about 1600. His total usable fuel at that time was about 49 gallons. He then made 3 round trip flights between Homer and Seldovia, which he indicated took between .4 to .5 hours each (between 24 to 30 minutes each.) The 3 round trip flights required 6 takeoffs and 6 landings. The pilot's total flight time for the 3 round trip flights, would have been between 72 to 90 minutes. The airplane was parked at the end of the day, and not used until the following day, which was the day of the accident. The amount of fuel remaining in the accident airplane is unknown.

The accident pilot's flight-time sheet for the day of the accident was recovered from the airplane wreckage. Her time sheet indicated that she began her day at 0832, flying in another company airplane, N756ZV. She made three flights (3 takeoffs and 3 landings) in N756ZV that concluded at 1008 in Homer.

The company had a ramp operations coordinator who was normally off on the day of the accident, however, he was called into work to fuel a jet. He reported that he saw the pilot at the accident airplane, on a ladder with a fuel hose, about 0945. He did not know the quantity, if any, the pilot may have used, but pilot's typically put about 30 gallons on board for round-robin flights. He said that company procedures include adding fuel and checking engine oil levels prior to each round-robin flight.

According to the pilot's time sheet, she switched to the accident airplane and departed at 1014, 6 minutes after parking the first airplane. Her time ...