Alaska

While taxiing out in fog, the KAL crew became disoriented and ended up on the wrong runway. During the takeoff run, the aircraft collided head-on with South Central Air Flight 59, a Piper PA-31 which was taking off from runway 06L-24R for a flight to Kenai. The 9 occupants of N35206 were injured. The DC-10 overran the runway by 1434 feet and came to rest 40 feet right of the extended centreline.

The aircraft got into a downdraft and collided with hilly terrain. The pilot stated that he was spotting caribou and settled into the side of a hill. According to the passengers the aircraft was about 300 feet agl prior to the descent to ground contact. All five occupants were injured and the aircraft was destroyed.

The aircraft crashed in a level, wooded area. The initial impact with trees occurred approximately 40 feet agl. Both wing tips and a portion of the left stabilizer and elevator were found at the bases of the trees that were first impacted. From the first impact point, the wreckage was disintegrated and scattered over an area that was 30 feet wide and 140 feet long. No known eye witnesses were reported. However, a short time before the accident, the aircraft was observed being flown in abrupt maneuvers and buzzing boats. A toxicological exam of the pilot's blood showed an alcohol level of 2,41‰. An exam of the wreckage was made, but no preimpact/mechanical malfunction or failures were found. The passenger was killed while the pilot was seriously injured.

Just after touchdown the aircraft rolled over a frost heave on the runway surface and began veering to the right. The pilot applied left brake and added power to the right engine but the aircraft continued going right until the right wing struck a hill adjacent to the right side of the runway. The aircraft came to rest in a ditch 110° to the right of the landing runway heading. Examination of the right main landing gear tire revealed a large jagged opening in the sidewall which extended into the tread area of the tire. This opening matched one of the sides of a rock found in the vicinity of the frost heave. The aircraft maintenance logbooks were reviewed and found to have no record of compliance with airworthiness directives. Both pilots escaped uninjured.

For unknown reasons, the seaplane landed hard on Walker Lake and came to rest. All three occupants were able to evacuate the cabin in time before the wreckage would sank by 200 feet depth.

While taxiing on the icy Kagoak River, the airplane went through the ice and partially sank. There were no injuries.

According to the FAA specialist on duty at the Nome flight service station the pilot of Munz Northern flight 601 requested only the Ambler weather at 0030 gmt. The only surviving passenger stated that the flight departed Nome, AK at 1330 bst and as the flight continued north she could only see straight down and was nervous because the ground was so close. She further stated that the props changed their sound which related to the sound they made earlier in the flight when the aircraft climbed to clear a mountain. She also added that they were in whiteout conditions prior to impact and there were no mechanical irregularities that she was aware of. The pilot and a passenger were killed.

At 1236 the flight departed Ketchikan seaplane base with a special VFR clearance and at 1240 reported clear of the control zone. The next and last transmission by the pilot was made to the company via FM radio at about 1340. This report was issued in the vicinity of Happy Harbor (passing over Kasaan Island) and was the approximate mid-point of the flight to Craig. Witnesses reported seeing the aircraft flying southwest over Twelvemile arm toward Hollis. Upon reaching Hollis the flight would be expected to turn west and cross inland over Prince of Wales Island until reaching the west shoreline and thence directly to Craig. There was a fog bank about 2 miles prior to Hollis in Twelvemile arm and the aircraft was observed to reverse course as the weather was approached and proceed north. The aircraft was lost from sight due to trees and rapidly upsloping terrain. An increase in engine sound was heard prior to the crash. Witnesses described the clouds as essentially broken with bases at about 1,000 feet over the water and obstructing the tops of some of the higher islands. All eight occupants were killed in the crash.

Several black bears were spotted in a narrow canyon and the pilot began making tight, descending turns so his sightseeing passengers could get photographs. Reportedly, the stall warning horn came on, but the pilot continued the turns. He finally rolled out of the turn, but was headed uphill in the valley. The pilot was unable to maintain airspeed while climbing up the valley. Subsequently, the aircraft crashed and nosed over. The elevation of the crash site was about 3,000 feet and the reported temperature was 62° F. All six occupants were seriously injured.

The crew departed Shemya Airport at 0810LT on a short flight of 10 minutes to the Casco Grove Coast Guard Station (LORAN Station) based on Attu Island. At that time, weather conditions were considered as good with clouds down to 400 feet, broken at 2,000 feet, visibility eight miles and wind from 210 at 20 knots. Because of the short flight, the crew did not take the time to align the aircraft's inertial navigation system prior to departure. Upon arrival to Casco Grove Airport, weather deteriorated and the captain elected to maintain visual contact with the water surface while the copilot and the navigator were monitoring the approach on radar. On approach to the airport, the crew failed to realize their altitude was too low when the airplane struck the slope of a mountain located about 3 miles southwest of runway 02 threshold. The aircraft was destroyed and caught fire after impact. A crew member and one passenger were killed while 9 other occupants were injured.