Accident Details
On June 15, 2018, at approximately 1538 Alaska daylight time, a tailwheel-equipped Cessna 180K airplane (registration N2957K) registered to Airframe Innovations Incorporated and operated by Northstar Aero LLC as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 visual flight rules flight collided with hilly, sand-covered terrain. The accident occurred after takeoff from a remote off-airport site about 26 miles southeast of Ambler, Alaska. The flight had departed Fairbanks International Airport at about 1024 and was returning at the time of the accident. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and company flight following procedures were in place.
Occupants and Injuries
Of the three occupants, the airline transport pilot sustained no injuries, one passenger sustained minor injuries, and the remaining passenger sustained serious injuries. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the forward fuselage.
Pilot Account
In a written statement to the National Transportation Safety Board, the pilot reported that after landing on a hilly sand dune, the wind at the top of the sand dune increased to between 10 and 20 knots over a two-hour period. He considered and reviewed several downhill departure routes and marked off the most favorable departure route that was into the wind. After loading his two passengers, he ensured both were wearing their BAS shoulder harness system, then began the downhill takeoff run. The pilot described the takeoff run as a typical sand dunes departure, with some rocking and bouncing, but the airplane accelerated rapidly downhill and into the wind. As the airplane became airborne near the bottom of the dune, the pilot made a slight right turn towards lower terrain, and the airspeed initially increased. As the airspeed increased to near Vx (best angle of climb airspeed), the headwind diminished, and the airplane began losing altitude and the stall warning horn sounded. To avoid a collision with a sharp wall of hard-packed sand ahead, the pilot continued the slight right turn towards the down sloping terrain, but the airplane continued to descend towards a 60-degree sloped sand dune. The airplane subsequently collided with the sand dune.
The pilot stated to the National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge that he credited the lack of more serious injuries to a recently installed BAS, Inc., four-point shoulder harness and lap belt restraint system. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.