Alaska plane that crashed and left 10 dead was more than 1,000 pounds over the weight limit, NTSB finds
The Bering Air flight that recently crashed in sea ice off Alaska, killing 10, was more than 1,000 pounds "over the maximum takeoff gross weight for flight into known or forecast icing conditions," according to a new report by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
The commuter flight was traveling from Unalakleet to Nome when it disappeared on Feb. 6. The U.S. Coast Guard found the plane's wreckage days later, on sea ice around 30 miles southeast of Nome.
"Post-accident examination of the airplane contents indicated that the baggage and cargo weighed approximately 798 lbs. Based on that information, the airplane's estimated gross takeoff weight at departure was about 9,865 lbs, which was about 1,058 lbs over the maximum takeoff gross weight for flight into known or forecast icing conditions," the NTSB said in a preliminary report this week.
"The final satellite tracking data point corresponded to a time of 1520:17 and an altitude of 200 ft," it added.
The NTSB said in the report that the plane, a Textron Aviation 208B, "was equipped with a TKS ice protection system that included porous titanium panels along the leading edges of the wings, horizontal and vertical stabilizers, and wing struts."
"The TKS system was designed to provide ice protection fluid from a tank in the cargo pod to the panels, propeller, and windshield to prevent the accumulation of airframe ice," it continued.
The NTSB cited a pilot operating handbook supplement relating to the TKS system as saying "that the maximum allowable takeoff gross weight for flight into known or forecast icing conditions was the same as that of the basic airplane, which was 8,807 lbs."
"FAA records revealed that the airplane was equipped with an Aircraft Payload Extender III (APE III) system," which "provided for an increased maximum gross takeoff weight of 9,062 lbs," the NTSB added.
However, at the time of the crash, the plane was still "about 803 lbs over the maximum gross takeoff weight for any flight operation under the APE III flight manual supplement," according to the NTSB.
"A senior NTSB aerospace engineer will conduct a detailed review of the airplane's performance as part of the investigation, including an evaluation of the airplane's center of gravity location," it said in the report.
The NTSB also said the pilot involved in the crash "had accumulated about 2,500 hours total flight time, including 1,060 hours in 208B airplanes."
Victims Rhone Baumgartner, 46, and Kameron Hartvigson, 41, boarded the flight to Nome after traveling to Unalakleet to work on a heat recovery system servicing the community's water plant, The Associated Press cited the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium as saying.
The pilot killed in the crash was identified as Chad Antill, 34, of Nome. The other victims, according to the Anchorage Daily News, were Liane Ryan, 52, of Wasilla; Donnell Erickson, 58, of Nome; Andrew Gonzalez, 30, of Wasilla; Jadee Moncur, 52, of Eagle River; Ian Hofmann, 45, of Anchorage; Talaluk Katchatag, 34, of Unalakleet, and Carol Mooers, 48, of Unalakleet.
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