Amateur-built SC7 accident near Delta Junction, Alaska, April 5, 2000
On April 5, 2000 at about 11:00 pm local time, a amateur-built SC7, registered N549WB, was substantially damaged in an accident near Delta Junction, Alaska (Pogo Mine airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadequate compensation for wind conditions during landing. Factors associated with the accident were an unfavorable wind, a crosswind, and an inadvertent swerve.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 5, 2000 · about 11:00 pm local time
- Place
- Delta Junction, Alaska · Pogo Mine · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built SC7
- Registration
- N549WB · registry record · serial 1911
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During a telephone conversation with an NTSB investigator, the commercial pilot reported that he was landing to the north, which required a correction for a left crosswind. He said that after landing and during the landing roll, a strong gust of wind veered the airplane to the right. He applied left rudder in an attempt to realign the airplane with the airstrip, but was unable to realign the airplane before the airplane's nose wheel struck a snow berm. The pilot related that wind conditions at the time of the accident were from the southwest at 20 knots, with peak gusts to 30 knots, and added that the airstrip was covered with ice. In his written report, dated May 5, 2000, the pilot wrote, in part: 'When landing to the north with a good wind from the north, on the south end of the strip, midway down the strip, the wind changed to the southwest at about 15 to 20 knots, with a very icy runway. I hit the snow berm along side of the runway, and bent the nose gear.' The airplane sustained substantial damage to the nose wheel bulkhead.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 20,000 hours in all; 1,000 in this make and model; 150 in the last 90 days; 20,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection
- Maximum gross weight: 12,500 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Garrett TPE-331 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: D66 Delta Junction AK at 5:45 pm
- Runway 36, 1,500 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 20 knots, gusting 30
- Visibility: 40 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 19°F (-7°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.