United States of America

About 1100 mst, on February 15,1983, a Sierra Pacific Airlines DHC-6, operating as Transwestern Flight 868, crashed during its final approach to a landing on runway 31, 1.7 mile south of the Friedman Memorial Airport at Hailey, Idaho. Flight 868 was a regularly scheduled commuter passenger flight between Boise and Hailey, Idaho. There were two flightcrew members and six passengers on board the flight. One passenger escaped with minor injuries, but all the other occupants sustained serious injuries in the accident. There was no fire. About 800 feet above the small town of Bellevue, 2 miles south of the airport, the captain reduced power in order to configure the airplane for its final approach. Immediately afterward, the captain realized that he had lost eleva control of the airplane. The airplane nosed over and descended steeply. The captain attempted to control the pitch of the airplane by adding power; it began to recover but it crash landed on a highway in a slight nosedown attitude, with the right wing slightly down The airplane then veered off the highway, struck a 4-foot-high snowbank, and broke apart.

Prior to departure the flight was given an IFR clearance which began at Herls intersection (16 miles NNE) and to cross Herls at or above 16,000 feet msl. Departure airport field elevation is 7,793 feet. Flights are required to proceed VFR to the initial fix of the IFR clearance. After takeoff the aircraft was observed heading northeast toward the mountains. Aircraft departing Aspen usually fly a northern heading, then turn northeast after clearing the mountains. Witnesses stated that the weather was good in the valley north of the airport, but the mountain tops east of the airport were obscured by low clouds. The aircraft crashed 3 1/2 miles northeast of the airport at the 9,000 feet level of an 11,000 feet mountain. The last time the pilot had flown into Aspen was in 1980. All four occupants were killed.

The aircraft crashed into a ditch off the departure end of the runway and burst into flames during takeoff. Witnesses said the aircraft did not sound like it was developing normal rpm for takeoff. One mechanic said the engines sounded like they were still in ground idle position. The surviving passenger said they didn't get enough speed to takeoff but he did not suspect any engine problems. Another ground witness said it sounded like the propellers were in very high or cruise pitch. After the accident both propellers were at or near the feather position. Toxicology studies on the pilot showed his blood alcohol level was 2,2‰. He also had cirrhosis of the liver. A passenger was seriously injured while the pilot and a second passenger were killed.

While parked at Pope AFB, the crew started the engine when an explosion occurred. The aircraft caught fire and was totally destroyed, killing all six crew members.

After landing on runway 31L, the aircrew of N100VV requested clearance to turn off to the right at midfield onto runway 22. The request was approved and the aircrew was instructed to use caution for a Cherokee proceeding from the opposite direction. The pilot of N100VV stated that after he turned right onto runway 04/22 and was clear of the Cherokee, he attempted to contact the tower to advise of his intentions. However, the frequency was too busy, so he switched to the ground frequency and transmitted that he was 'off 31L, going to Atlantic.' This transmission ended just as N100VV was entering the intersection of runway 22 and 31R. Just prior to that, N222WL had been cleared for takeoff on runway 31R and had begun its takeoff roll. N222WL was at approximately 70 knots when its aircrew saw N100VV starting to cross the active runway. The pilot of N222WL attempted to takeoff and avoid a collision, but was unable to clear N100VV. N222WL crashed and slid to a stop approximately 400 feet beyond the impact point with N100VV, then burned. All three occupants escaped uninjured.

At approximately 0928 est, the pilot obtained a FSS weather briefing by telephone. He was briefed on conditions of low ceilings, fog, light rain, drizzle, snow and blowing snow along his route. However, he did not ask about icing conditions and the briefing did not include a fight precaution for icing nor a sigmet (issued at 0820 est) which forecasted moderate to severe mixed icing. While en route, the pilot made several altitude changes by request. When he was queried about a heading deviation, he replied 'we're having a little problem.' this was the last radio contact. ATC received no radio calls concerning icing problems or an emergency. Witnesses near the crash site saw the aircraft come out of the clouds in a near vertical descent, rotating in a nose down attitude, then impact and burn. Airframe ice up to 1/2 inch thick was found on/near parts that were not fire damaged.

The aircraft diverted from Scottsdale to a flight course to Sedona because of thunderstorms and high winds at Scottsdale, but after a radio conversation with Scottsdale tower, the pilot decided to reroute to land at Scottsdale. The pilot did not read back the weather correctly to Scottsdale tower. After descending in rain and turbulence, the pilot reported to Scottsdale at 1857 that 'we think we have the arpt at nine o'clock.' the plt was cleared to make a visual approach to rwy 21. The twr never established visual contact with the acft & was unable to make further radio contact the last recorded radar contact showed the acft at 2200 ft descending, 2 miles from scottsdale on a bearing of 075 degrees. The acft contacted the ground left wing & nose low in a landing configuration on a heading of about 300 degrees. The acft slid about 770 ft, losing the engines, wings & landing gear before stopping. A post accident examination of the wreckage showed no signs of pre-impact conditions that would have affected normal operations.

The pilot and a prospective buyer/passenger were on a local demonstration flight. Prior to this flight, the aircraft had been parked for nearly one year. Since the last annual inspection on 12 January 1982, it had been flown only 66 hours. During the preflight, the pilot found the fuel tanks between 1/4 full and empty. The sumps were drained, the main tanks were filled, then the sumps were drained again. After takeoff, the pilot leveled the aircraft at 1,500 feet in a cruise configuration. Shortly thereafter, the left engine began running rough, backfiring and losing power. The pilot turned back toward the airport, but the engine lost all power and the propeller was feathered. While returning, the right engine's cylinder head and oil temperature began rising above the red line. Subsequently, it began losing power and a wheels-up, forced landing was made in an open field. An examination revealed that both engines were out of time, firing was intermittent and distributor block on the left engine was burned due to incorrect timing. Also, the left turbocharger gate was stuck open and the left fuel filter was partially clogged. Both occupants escaped uninjured.

The aircraft crashed into a lake during a forced landing after the engines quit. The pilot-in-command had gone for a local flight with a pilot/passenger. After a few minutes of flight he announced that they did not have any fuel. The aircraft was on an approach to return when both engines began to cut out. The aircraft did not make the runway and impacted in the lake. The occupants were able to evacuate and were picked up by fishermen. The aircraft came to rest on the bottom of the lake. The aircraft had just completed a cross-country with the same pilot-in-command and no refueling was accomplished.

The Guatemalan registered aircraft collided with the ground while airdropping bales of marijuana on a beach. According to a witness, while the aircraft was making low passes over the beach the propeller struck the beach tearing it off the aircraft. The aircraft then continued about 600 feet and landed gear up on the beach. The crew unsuccessfully attempted to set the aircraft on fire. Sob and injuries are presumed.