Incident Overview
During the takeoff roll, as the first officer (FO) rotated the airplane, the stall warning horn activated. The airplane lifted from the runway with the stall horn still sounding. Above V1 speed, the pilot-in-command (PIC) called out to abort the takeoff. The FO aborted the takeoff and landed the airplane on the runway. Subsequently, the airplane entered a snow bank on the left side of the runway.
Previous Stall Horn Activations
Service Difficulty Reports revealed that other stall horn activations had occurred on takeoff. Several of these activations happened after deicing and were attributed to frozen stall vanes on the wing. The accident airplane had been deiced prior to the takeoff.
Checklist and Training Procedures
The BE1900 checklist called for the stall vane heat to be turned on just before takeoff. Stall training provided by the operator did not include BE1900 simulators, and all recoveries were initiated at the stall horn. The FAA practical test standard for type ratings required the recognition of the stall buffet, stick shaker, or decay of control effectiveness.
Crew Experience and Operator Compliance
The flight crew had not received winter operations training. This was the Boston-based PIC's third takeoff in snow. Multiple FAA inspections over several years revealed that the operator was not in compliance with regulations, which included their training program; however, they continued to operate unrestricted.
Runway Conditions
Airport operations had ceased snow plowing the 300-foot-wide runway to accommodate airline operations. Officials reported the runway had been plowed 75 feet west and 150 feet east of runway center. However, the runway was measured to be plowed only 55 feet left of center, with a 1-foot-high and 10-foot-wide pile of snow on the west side of the runway. The plowed portion had an icy covering.