Late Go-Around Attempt Ends in Stall and Crash at Bethel Airport

July 8, 2019 — Cessna 208B Grand Caravan N9448B — Bethel, Alaska

The approach had already become difficult when Grant Aviation Flight 262 reached Bethel. The pilot had selected a short runway, used a higher-than-normal pattern because of visibility and terrain, and then found the aircraft floating during the landing flare. The decision to go around came late. During the climb, a left turn was initiated after tower instructions, and the airplane stalled, rolled right and struck the ground between the runways. All six people aboard survived.

The NTSB traced the stall to inadequate airspeed during a late go-around

The final investigation found that Grant Aviation Flight 262 approached Bethel's short Runway 12 at excessive airspeed. The runway was about 1,858 feet long. After the aircraft floated during the landing attempt, the pilot initiated a go-around late in the approach.

Power was advanced and the flaps were retracted. The airplane began climbing with reduced airspeed. The tower issued an urgent left-turn instruction, and the pilot maneuvered while the aircraft was already near the limit of its performance.

The NTSB found that the airplane exceeded its critical angle of attack during the maneuver and stalled at low altitude. The investigation also identified the short-runway approach at excessive airspeed and the late go-around as contributing factors. Temperature was about 25 degrees above average, increasing density altitude and reducing performance.

The six occupants escaped after the crash and post-impact fire, sustaining minor injuries. The final finding is therefore more specific than a simple statement that the airplane stalled: inadequate airspeed during the maneuver was the direct cause identified by the NTSB.

The investigation's performance analysis is important because the airplane was already close to its stall boundary when the go-around maneuver began. The short runway had required a precise approach, but the aircraft arrived with excessive airspeed and floated. Once the pilot initiated the go-around, the airplane was climbing from a low-energy state while maneuvering under a tower instruction. The NTSB concluded that the combination of reduced airspeed and maneuvering produced an angle-of-attack exceedance. The post-impact fire destroyed the aircraft, but the six occupants escaped with minor injuries.

The final report also distinguishes the pilot's decision to use the short runway from the actual stall. The approach to the short runway created an unstable landing condition, while the late go-around left the aircraft slow during the subsequent turn. That distinction is reflected in the NTSB's use of the approach and late go-around as contributing factors rather than treating them as the direct aerodynamic cause.

“The pilots failure to maintain adequate airspeed while maneuvering during an attempted go around, which resulted in an exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack and an aerodynamic stall at low altitude.”

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