ASN Aircraft accident Basler BT-67 Turbo 67 (DC-3T) C-FMKB Mt. Patterson
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Status:Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Date:Thursday 20 December 2007
Time:01:23
Type:Silhouette image of generic DC3T model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different
Basler BT-67 Turbo 67 (DC-3T)
Operator:Kenn Borek Air
Registration: C-FMKB
MSN: 19560
First flight: 1942
Engines: 2 Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-67R
Crew:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Passengers:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 8
Total:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 10
Aircraft damage: Substantial
Aircraft fate: Repaired
Location:Mt. Patterson (   Antarctica)
Phase: Takeoff (TOF)
Nature:Survey/research
Departure airport:?
Destination airport:?
Narrative:
The DC-3 Turbo plane was charted by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) providing support to a group of researchers at a remote location near Mt. Patterson in West Antarctica. The passengers aboard the plane were part of the NSF-funded portion of the international Polar Earth Observatory Network (POLENET) project, which is deploying GPS units and seismic sensors across Antarctica.
The captain said that during the takeoff run, as the airplane neared 70 knots, he moved the airplane's control column aft in an attempt to lower the tail, and attain a flying attitude. Just before the airplane became airborne, the right wing lifted and left wing struck the snow-covered terrain, which pivoted the airplane 90 degrees to the left. Both main landing gear assemblies collapsed and the airplane came to rest on the belly, sustaining substantial damage to the left wing and fuselage. The first officer reported that during the takeoff run, as the airplane neared 60 knots, and as the captain moved the control column aft, she felt the airplane's tailwheel contact the hard packed snow. The first officer said that other captains that she had flown with usually attain a higher airspeed before becoming airborne. The cockpit voice recorder revealed that the highest airspeed that the first officer called out during the takeoff run was 60 knots, about 3 to 5 seconds prior to the crash.
The airplane sustained damage to the underside of the nose, the tail wheel collapsed, both main landing gears separated and both propellers were damaged.

Probable Cause:

PROBABLE CAUSE: "The captain's decision to lift off before attaining a proper airspeed, resulting in a loss of control during takeoff."

Classification:
Loss of control

Sources:
» NSF-chartered Plane Crashes While Taking Off from Remote Antarctic Field Camp (NSF, 21-12-2007)
» CADORS Number: 2007C3509


Photos

photo of Basler-BT-67-Turbo-67-C-FMKB
accident date: 20-12-2007
type: Basler BT-67 Turbo-67
registration: C-FMKB
 
This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.
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