Wien Air Alaska Flight 99 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight in
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
to
St. Lawrence Island
St. Lawrence Island ( ess, Sivuqaq, russian: Остров Святого Лаврентия, Ostrov Svyatogo Lavrentiya) is located west of mainland Alaska in the Bering Sea, just south of the Bering Strait. The village of Gambell, located on t ...
in the
Bering Sea
The Bering Sea (, ; rus, Бе́рингово мо́ре, r=Béringovo móre) is a marginal sea of the Northern Pacific Ocean. It forms, along with the Bering Strait, the divide between the two largest landmasses on Earth: Eurasia and The Ameri ...
. On approach to
Gambell on 30 August 1975, it crashed into Sevuokuk Mountain, east of the
airport's runway. Of the 32 on board, ten were killed, including the captain and first officer. The
Fairchild F-27B aircraft was operated by
Wien Air Alaska
Wien Air Alaska (IATA: WC) was a United States airline formed from Northern Consolidated Airlines (NCA) and Wien Alaska Airways. The company was famous for being the first airline in Alaska, and one of the first in the United States; it ceased ope ...
.
Flight
Flight 99 originated in
Nome on Saturday, August 30, 1975, bound for
Savoonga and Gambell. Captain William C. Arant (39), who had 6,607 flying hours prior to the journey, and First Officer Gerald W. Schaefer (28) who had 2,738 flight hours were on board. The flight from Nome to Savoonga was uneventful, and the plane departed Savoonga for Gambell at 1:27 pm
Bering daylight time.
[ ]
Copy at
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. As Gambell did not have a
control tower
Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airsp ...
, the Wien agent at Gambell, upon hearing the plane radio its departure from Savoonga, turned on the
non-directional beacon
A non-directional beacon (NDB) or non-directional radio beacon is a radio beacon which does not include directional information. Radio beacons are radio transmitters at a known location, used as an aviation or marine navigational aid. NDB are ...
at Gambell to aid the flights crew in navigation.
Fog
Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Reprint from Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus, and is heavily influ ...
was prevalent in the Gambell area, and the crew discussed strategies to land at the airport. After several
missed approaches, the plane flew north over the community, and turned east, and then south to make one final pass. The plane passed over Troutman Lake east of Gambell, and turned south, before impacting Sevuokuk Mountain at an elevation of .
After impact, the plane broke apart and was propelled up the mountain approximately , coming to rest inverted. A fire broke out, and the residents of the village came to aid,
attempting to put the fire out with hand-held extinguishers.
All but one of the injured passengers were able to escape the wreckage. Most of the injured or killed passengers were natives of Nome, Gambell, or Savoonga.
Cause
The cause of the crash, according to the NTSB, was improper IFR (
Instrument flight rules
In aviation, instrument flight rules (IFR) is one of two sets of regulations governing all aspects of civil aviation aircraft operations; the other is visual flight rules (VFR).
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) ''Instrument Fly ...
) operation, failing to adhere to instrument approach procedures. The airplane collided with a mountain on a missed approach to landing, after multiple missed approaches. The weather at the airport was unsafe for landing, with a low ceiling and sea fog.
References
External links
Accident Descriptionat the
Aviation Safety Network
The Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) is an independent, nonprofit, international organization concerning research, education, advocacy, and communications in the field of aviation safety. FSF brings together aviation professionals from all sectors ...
{{Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in the 1970s
Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 1975
Airliner accidents and incidents involving fog
Airliner accidents and incidents involving controlled flight into terrain
Accidents and incidents involving the Fairchild F-27
Airliner accidents and incidents in Alaska
Wien Air Alaska accidents and incidents
Nome Census Area, Alaska
1975 in Alaska
August 1975 events in the United States
Airliner accidents and incidents caused by weather
Airliner accidents and incidents caused by pilot error