33 Years ago today: On 23 November 1987 a Ryan Air Service Beechcraft 1900 crashed on finals to Homer, AK after losing control due to too far aft CofG, killing 18 out of 21 occupants.
| Date: | Monday 23 November 1987 |
| Time: | 18:25 |
| Type: | Beechcraft 1900C |
| Operator: | Ryan Air Service |
| Registration: | N401RA |
| C/n / msn: | UB-58 |
| First flight: | 1986 |
| Engines: | 2 Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-65B |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 16 / Occupants: 19 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 18 / Occupants: 21 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Aircraft fate: | Written off (damaged beyond repair) |
| Location: | Homer Airport, AK (HOM) ( |
| Crash site elevation: | 26 m (85 feet) amsl |
| Phase: | Approach (APR) |
| Nature: | Domestic Non Scheduled Passenger |
| Departure airport: | Kodiak Airport, AK (ADQ/PADQ), United States of America |
| Destination airport: | Homer Airport, AK (HOM/PAHO), United States of America |
| Flightnumber: | 103 |
Narrative:
Flight 103 was fully loaded (all 19 seats occupied; 1437 pounds of cargo) when it took off from Kodiak runway 07.
The aircraft lifted off the runway, fell back and accelerated for about another 15 knots before it became airborne. The aircraft was approaching Homer at 18:19 when it was cleared for the localizer/DME approach to runway 3. The crew reported a 2-mile final 5 minutes later. On short final the wings were seen to rock back and forth; the aircraft then dropped steeply to the ground in a rather flat attitude, struck the airport perimeter fence and slid to a stop on its belly.
Probable Cause:
PROBABLE CAUSE: “The failure of the flight crew to properly supervise the loading of the airplane which resulted in the centre of gravity being displaced to such an aft location that the airplane control was lost when the flaps were lowered for landing.”
