What happened
On August 2, 1993, a cargo flight operated by MarkAir, Inc. was conducting an unscheduled domestic mission from King Salmon, Alaska. The aircraft, a Cessna 208, arrived at Geographic Harbor, situated approximately 75 miles west of Kodiak, at 1500 Alaska daylight time.
As the aircraft approached the water for landing, the landing gear remained in the extended position. Upon contact with the surface, the Cessna 208, registration N9526F, nosed over. The pilot, who was the only person on board, escaped the incident with minor injuries. The impact resulted in substantial damage to the airframe.
At the time of the accident, the weather conditions were within visual meteorological limits, and a VFR flight plan had been filed by the company.
Findings
Investigations into the accident revealed that the pilot did not follow the established procedures for water operations. Specifically, the pilot failed to utilize the aircraft checklist to confirm that the wheels had been retracted prior to the landing. The pilot noted during post-accident communications that he was heavily preoccupied and distracted by various mission-related tasks at the time of the landing.