NTSB: Pilot in Cold Bay Crash Landing Didn't Lower Gear

Crash Landing in Cold Bay

By Tim Akimoff and Lori Tipton Channel 2 News KTUU

4:49 p.m. AKDT, June 13, 2011

ANCHORAGE, Alaska—

The National Transportation Safety Board says the pilot of a Universal Airlines flight that crash-landed in Cold Bay Sunday night failed to put the landing gear down.

According to NTSB investigator Clint Johnson, the Douglas DC-6 was inbound from Togiak with fish and cargo. A Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson says the runway was closed Sunday to remove the plane and clean up after a fuel spill.

None of the four people on board were injured, but the plane sustained damage.

Contact Lori Tipton at ltipton@ktuu.com

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ShonaPeaceAdams at 7:12 PM June 16, 2011

Universal Airlines is a cargo freight carrier, not a Passenger Airline Carrier. Unless you are shipping salmon, auto parts or cargo, you wouldn't have heard of them. I seriously question the stories that state that the pilot FORGOT the landing gear.

This pilot is extremely experienced, and very skilled...forgetting the landing gear, is kind of like forgetting the wings....not something you just "forget" on an airplane as you are headed toward the ground. Many stories are now stating "landing gear FAILURE". No matter how a plane of this age is maintained, landing gear failure seems, in my humble opinion to be the more likely culprit.

I, too, am very very thankful that no one was injured or hurt. The current population of this amazingly gorgeous village is between 88-170 souls, and fortunately none of them were milling around or playing on the runway at the time of the crash LANDING which occurred on the RUNWAY at the AIRPORT. That's why they landed the plane on the RUNWAY albeit without landing gear. No one needs to lose their flying privileges. Mechanical failures happen.

rld00442 at 8:22 PM June 15, 2011

I had never heard of Universal Airlines before this story. Now I guess I know why-you mean I have to lower the landing gear each time I land? Fortunately no one in Cold Bay was hurt or killed but definately everyone in that cockpit should lose their privledge to fly in Alaska.

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NTSB: Pilot in Cold Bay Crash Landing Didn't Lower Gear

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