NTSB CAROL · Event
Event ANC89FA043
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
FAILURE OF THE PILOT TO REMOVE FROST FROM THE AIRCRAFT. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS WERE: IMPROPER WEIGHT AND BALANCE AND SNOW COVERED TERRAIN.
Factual narrative
THE PLT RPRTD THAT BEFORE THE FLT, THE WINGS & STABILIZER WERE SWEPT, LEAVING A LAYER OF 'POLISHED' FROST. FREIGHT WAS LOADED & THE ACFT WAS SERVICED TO BRING THE FUEL LEVEL UP TO 120 GAL. AFTER START, TAXI & RUN-UP, THE PLT BEGAN HIS TAKEOFF FROM THE APPROACH END OF THE 10,300 FT RWY (WITH 35' MP & 2250 RPM). AT ABOUT 100 FT AGL, HE ADJUSTED THE POWER (TO 30' MP & 2000 RPM) & RAISED THE FLAPS TO CLIMB AT 82 KTS. HOWEVER, THE ACFT DID NOT CLIMB & WOULD NOT ACCELERATE IN LEVEL FLT. THE PLT INCREASED THE POWER (TO 31' MP & 2100 RPM), BUT HE BELIEVED THERE WAS A DEFINITE LOSS OF POWER. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE ACFT WAS DAMAGED WHEN THE PLT ABORTED THE TAKEOFF ON SNOW COVERED TERRAIN BEYOND THE END OF THE RWY. NO PRE-ACDNT PART FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION OF THE ACFT OR ENG WAS FOUND. AN INV REVEALED THE ENTIRE ACFT WAS COVERED WITH A COATING OF FROST. COMPANY RECORDS SHOWED THE EMPTY WEIGHT OF THE ACFT WAS 5088 LBS; THE ACFT'S ACTUAL EMPTY WEIGHT WAS 5285 LBS. AN FAA INSPECTOR CALCULATED THAT THE TAKEOFF GROSS WEIGHT EXCEEDED THE MAX LIMIT BY 130 LBS. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1989_ANC89FA043.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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