What happened
During a scheduled domestic commuter flight to a remote village, a twin-engine turboprop experienced a landing accident on a gravel runway. The aircraft, which featured a belly-mounted cargo pod, touched down with its landing gear in the retracted position. During the initial contact, the cargo pod scraped the runway surface for approximately 40 feet, though the propeller tips remained clear of the ground. Following this contact, the pilot initiated a climb and extended the landing gear. As the aircraft reached an altitude between 100 and 150 feet, it entered a descending left turn and struck tundra-covered terrain. The impact resulted in a post-crash fire that consumed the right engine, the right wing, and the fuselage. Of the occupants on board, five passengers survived the impact.
Findings
Investigations revealed that the aircraft's flaps were set to 40 degrees at the time of the crash, which deviated from the established balked landing procedure requiring flaps to be at 15 degrees. While the pilot and passengers did not report hearing a landing gear warning horn during the ground contact, this lack of audible warning had also been noted during two previous near-miss incidents involving the same aircraft within the preceding eight months. No mechanical malfunctions were identified in the engines or airframe during the post-crash examination. Notably, a regulatory inspection conducted six months prior to the accident had recommended that the operator employ two pilots for this specific aircraft type. Following this event, the FAA mandated a two-pilot crew for all passenger operations involving this make and model.