Photographer Survived The Impact With Head Injuries

A wheel-equipped, twin-engine, turbine-powered de Havilland DHC-6 (Twin Otter) airplane, N716JP, struck a pedestrian after takeoff from a remote sea ice airstrip, about 140 miles north of Deadhorse, AK, according to the NTSB.

In its preliminary report on the incident, the board indicated that the incident occurred March 20, 2018, about 1945 Alaska daylight time. The pedestrian, reported to be a photographer, sustained serious injuries, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The captain, first officer, and the three passengers on board the airplane were not injured. The flight was operated by Bald Mountain Air Service, Inc., Homer, AK. The flight was en route to Deadhorse at the time of the accident.

During a telephone interview with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), on March 23, the accident airplane's captain said that the purpose of the flight was to provide ongoing logistical support of ICEX 2018, which involves, in part, U.S. Navy and U.K Royal Navy submarines operating beneath the frozen Arctic Ocean during a 5-week exercise. The captain stated that the flights used an airstrip on the sea ice that was lined on both sides with snow berms. The airstrip included one runway oriented north/south and an intersecting runway oriented east/west. He said that weather conditions at the time of the accident consisted of clear skies with ice pack haze. He noted that the sun was low on the horizon, resulting in shadows on the airstrip, and that flat light conditions made it difficult to discern topographical features.

The captain said that, after back-taxiing the airplane to the south end of the airstrip and just before beginning the takeoff roll to the north, both pilots saw the pedestrian standing near the departure end of the airstrip on the left side and near the intersection of the east/west runway. He said that during the takeoff roll, the airplane veered slightly to the left of centerline, so he applied differential engine power to correct the veer, and the airplane returned to the centerline. As the takeoff roll continued, the airplane subsequently became airborne, so he lowered the nose to remain within ground effect and gain airspeed before initiating a climb. He said that as the airspeed increased, he started to climb the airplane, then initiated a left turn. During the turn, both pilots said they heard a loud thump, which was immediately followed by an aileron control anomaly. The captain reported that he continued the left turn and subsequently entered a left downwind traffic pattern for an emergency landing to the north. The captain said that after landing, both pilots saw the pedestrian lying near a snow berm on the left side of the airstrip.

A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed substantial damage to the left wing and left aileron. The pedestrian sustained a serious head and neck injuries because of the collision, and he was subsequently medevaced to Anchorage, Alaska for treatment.

During a hospital room interview with the NTSB IIC, on March 25, the injured pedestrian, who was an employee of the Arctic Submarine Laboratory, reported that just before the two pilots boarded the airplane, it was agreed that he would position himself alongside the airstrip to get a photo of the airplane's departure. The pedestrian noted that, as the accident airplane approached, he positioned himself behind a 3- to 4-ft tall snow berm, which was clear of the airstrip. He said that, as the airplane's takeoff progressed, it did not climb as quickly as it had during previous departures. The pedestrian said that the last thing he remembered before the collision was seeing the airplane's left wing getting lower to the ground as the airplane continued to accelerate toward him. The next thing he remembered was waking up in the medevac helicopter.

The airplane was equipped with a solid-state cockpit voice recorder (CVR), and a download of the CVR data is pending.

(Source: NTSB. Image from file, not accident airplane)

FMI: app.ntsb.gov/pdfgenerator/ReportGeneratorFile.ashx?EventID=20180322X70555&AKey=1&RType=HTML&IType=LA