Accident Summary
On July 8, 2019, about 1505 Alaska daylight time, Grant Aviation flight GV262, a Cessna 208B airplane (N9448B), was destroyed by a post-crash fire during an accident at Bethel Airport (BET), Bethel, Alaska. The commercial pilot and five passengers sustained minor injuries. The airplane was operating under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 as a scheduled commuter flight.
Flight History
The accident flight was the last leg of a five-leg scheduled passenger flight from Newtok Airport to the company’s base at BET. The pilot contacted the BET air traffic control tower about 10 miles west of the airport and offered to use runway 12 for a more expeditious arrival from the west. The tower controller cleared the pilot to land on runway 12. The pilot selected a higher-than-normal traffic pattern altitude due to limited visibility and terrain west of the airport. He conducted a visual approach with an increased rate of descent and full flaps.
Go-Around and Stall
During the landing flare, the airplane floated about halfway down the runway, and the pilot executed a go-around due to insufficient runway stopping distance. He advanced the throttle to maximum, retracted flaps to 20°, and increased pitch attitude as the main landing gear momentarily touched down. The pilot transmitted that he was going around. The local controller instructed him twice to turn left immediately. The pilot was aware of an airplane on short final to runway 1L but was concerned about conflicting cross traffic. He applied left aileron; the airplane stalled, rolled right, and descended, impacting the ground in a right-wing-low attitude. He attempted to regain control and recalled selecting flaps up. The airplane came to rest on its right side in a grass-covered drainage ditch between runways 1L and 1R.
Impact and Post-Crash Fire
Postaccident photographs revealed that the left wing separated from the airframe and came to rest on the right wing. The right wing exhibited a 30° deformation upward about 8 ft from the wingtip, and the right aileron was separated. The flaps were attached and appeared retracted. The propeller was attached and exhibited spanwise torsional twist, indicative of high power at impact. The empennage was upright, partially detached at the aft fuselage with minor buckling. The fuselage and wing root area were destroyed by fire. The pilot saw fire through the right window and assisted in evacuating two children and three adult passengers through the left cargo door before the airplane was consumed.
Aircraft and Weight Information
The airplane was estimated to weigh about 7,500 lbs at the time of the accident, with weight and balance within limits. No power-on stall speed is published for the airplane. The landing distance required for a short field landing approach at 78 knots and full flaps is 950 ft per the pilot operating handbook.
Weather
At the time of the accident, temperature was 88°F, wind light and variable at 3 knots. The average high temperature for July in Bethel is 63°F.
Airport Information
Bethel Airport runway 12 is an 1,858 ft gravel runway transitioning to asphalt at the southeast end, terminating at parallel runways 1L and 1R. ADS-B data showed the airplane was 0.1 mile from the threshold at 149 ft height and 110 knots groundspeed, then 49 ft over the threshold at 98 knots groundspeed. At 1506:47, during the go-around climb, the local controller urgently instructed a left turn. Seven seconds later, as another airplane arrived at the runway 1L threshold, the controller again instructed a left turn.