N215MC

On April 03, 2021, at 1315 hours Alaska daylight time, a Cessna 208B, N215MC, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Fairbanks, Alaska. The pilot and four passengers were not injured. The airplane was operated by as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 commercial flight.

The pilot reported that during the takeoff roll, the engine gauges “were in the green” and “everything seemed normal.” During climbout, he retracted the flaps slowly, and while retracting the last 10°, the engine began to run rough. He looked at the torque meter and saw that it was shaking and starting to drop. He knew that he was already at or past the halfway point of the runway length and with 1 mile visibility he pulled the power lever back and pointed the nose down to land. The pilot stated that with no power the airplane was losing airspeed and during the descent he tried to add flaps, but the airplane was descending rapidly and subsequently landed hard. After the airplane came to a stop, the pilot taxied the airplane off the runway.

The passengers stated that after liftoff, the engine sputtered and the airplane touched back down on the runway and bounced three or four times.

Ground witnesses reported heavy snowfall at the time the airplane took off.

Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the left main landing gear was bent outward. The lower fuselage was substantially damaged. Examination of the engine and testing of a fuel sample found no evidence of any preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.