History of Flight
On September 7, 2008, at approximately 0800 central daylight time, a Beech 1900D, registration N122UX, operated by Great Lakes Aviation Ltd as Lakes Air Flight 5215, was substantially damaged while parking at a gate at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport (KSTL), St. Louis, Missouri. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The scheduled domestic passenger flight was conducted under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121 on an instrument flight rules flight plan. The pilot, first officer, and four passengers were not injured. The cross-country flight had departed Quincy Regional Airport - Baldwin Field (KUIN), Quincy, Illinois, at 0600.
According to statements from the pilots and two ground crew personnel, the airplane was being marshaled to a parking spot by a marshaler and a wing walker. The parking spot was tight due to the proximity of other airplanes and ground vehicles. After the right wing cleared several obstacles, the marshaler instructed the pilot to turn. During the turn, the empennage struck an overhang from an adjacent building. The marshaler and wing walker perceived that the empennage was clear of the building during the turn. Neither the captain nor the first officer could see the empennage. Neither crew member acknowledged awareness of the airplane's proximity to the building or its overhang during parking. The airplane continued forward and was secured. The flight crew and passengers deplaned without further incident.
Examination of the airframe revealed a twisted vertical stabilizer and wrinkled rudder and right elevator. No other systems anomalies were noted.
Personnel Information
The captain, age 26, held an airline transport pilot certificate with airplane multiengine land rating and a commercial pilot certificate with airplane single engine land rating, plus a type rating in the Beech 1900 requiring a second in command. He held a first class medical certificate issued March 27, 2008, with no limitations. According to Great Lakes Airlines, the captain had logged at least 2,680 total hours, of which 2,300 were in the accident make and model, and six hours in the previous 24 hours.
The first officer, age 27, held a commercial pilot certificate with airplane single engine, multiengine, and instrument ratings. He held a second class medical certificate issued September 2007 with no limitations. Great Lakes Airlines reported the first officer had logged at least 900 total hours, including 410 hours in the make and model and six hours in the previous 24 hours.
Aircraft Information
The accident airplane, a Beech 1900D (serial number UE-122), was manufactured in 1994. It held a standard airworthiness certificate for transport operations and was powered by two Pratt & Whitney turbo propeller engines. The airplane was configured for two flight crew members and 19 passengers. It was registered to and operated by Great Lakes Aviation Ltd, Cheyenne, Wyoming, and maintained under an approved continuous airworthiness inspection program. The last inspection was conducted on September 31, 2008. The airframe had accumulated 24,954 total hours at the time of the accident.
Airport Information
Lambert-St. Louis International Airport is a public, controlled airport (Class B) located ten miles northwest of St. Louis, Missouri, at a surveyed elevation of 618 feet. According to Great Lakes Airlines, their parking area was designated as gates D8 and D10 between the C and D concourses.
Flight Recorders
The airplane was equipped with a Fairchild Model A100A 30-minute solid-state cockpit voice recorder (CVR). The CVR was not damaged; its audio information was extracted normally. A CVR group convened on September 25, 2008, produced a partial transcript. Review of the recording and transcript revealed that during descent, instrument approach, landing, and taxi to parking, the crew deviated from the sterile cockpit environment: character voices, chicken noises, and nonessential communications occurred. Prior to impact, one crew member stated a desire to blast a colleague with their engines while taxiing by.
Additional Information
Following the accident, Great Lakes Airlines added an operations requirement for parking procedures: any time a turn into a parking position is required, three ramp employees (a signalman and two wing walkers) must be present. Prior to the accident, no such procedures existed. Great Lakes also added a checklist requirement for in-flight operations: when descending below 10,000 feet mean sea level, a call for sterile cockpit must be made.
Title 14 CFR Part 121.542, which prohibits flight crewmembers from engaging in nonessential activities during critical phases of flight (including taxi, takeoff, landing, and operations below 10,000 feet except cruise flight), is relevant to the sterile cockpit deviations noted.
Operational history: On June 20, 2007, a Beech 1900D operated by Great Lakes Aviation Ltd struck an electrical box during a high speed turn off the runway after landing in Laramie, Wyoming (NTSB accident number DEN07LA101). On March 26, 2008, a Hawker Beechcraft Corporation 1900D operated by Great Lakes Aviation Ltd experienced a cargo door opening during takeoff in Page, Arizona (NTSB incident number SEA08IA096). These investigations revealed a lack of crew resource management and lack of professionalism by both flight crew members.