NTSB · Safety Recommendation
Safety Recommendation A-17-042
Recommendation
TO THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION: Analyze automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) data from Ketchikan air tour operations on an ongoing basis and meet annually with Ketchikan air tour operators to engage in a nonpunitive discussion of any operational hazards reflected in the data and collaborate on mitigation strategies for any hazards identified.
Safety Issue and Context
On June 25, 2015, about 1215 Alaska daylight time, a single-engine, turbine-powered, float-equipped de Havilland DHC-3 (Otter) airplane, N270PA, collided with mountainous, tree-covered terrain about 24 miles east-northeast of Ketchikan, Alaska. The commercial pilot and eight passengers sustained fatal injuries, and the airplane was destroyed. The airplane was owned by Pantechnicon Aviation, of Minden, Nevada, and operated by Promech Air, Inc., of Ketchikan.
The flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 135 as an on-demand sightseeing flight; a company visual flight rules flight plan (by which the company performed its own flight-following) was in effect. Marginal visual flight rules conditions were reported in the area at the time of the accident. The flight departed about 1207 from Rudyerd Bay about 44 miles east-northeast of Ketchikan and was en route to the operator’s base at the Ketchikan Harbor Seaplane Base, Ketchikan.
Response History
April 19, 2023 · NTSB Correspondence · FAA
We note that you do not intend to collect ADS-B data from Ketchikan-area air tour operators. You reported that reduced air tour activity in the Ketchikan area during 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic limited your ability to collect this data. You also said it would be burdensome for operators to provide this information. You believe this recommendation is satisfied by the following:
• The FAA’s biannual air tour safety meetings with air tour operators in Alaska • The voluntary agreements those air tour operators have signed • The FAA rulemaking project that proposes updating and expanding the requirements for safety management systems (SMSs) and requiring certain certificate holders and commercial air tour operators to develop and implement an SMS
We believe the FAA can collect and review ADS-B data broadcast by aircraft in the Ketchikan area without operators submitting it; we point out that we were able to obtain and review such data from L3 Harris, the prime contractor for the FAA’s ADS-B program, during the Promech investigation.
The SMS rulemaking may result in individual air tour operators incorporating regular reviews of their ADS-B data as part of their SMS; however, the intent of this recommendation is to provide an opportunity for the FAA and Ketchikan-area air tour operators to openly discuss any safety issues identified in the collected ADS-B data and increase awareness among all operators of the operational hazards in that area. We do not believe your actions are responsive and, because you have not reported any plans to take the recommended action, Safety Recommendation A-17-42 is classified CLOSED-- UNACCEPTABLE ACTION.
March 24, 2022 · Recipient Response · FAA
-From Steve Dickson, Administrator: As described at our April 7, 2021, meeting with the National Transportation Safety Board staff, commercial air tour operations in Alaska have decreased significantly, and a large number of operators have suspended flight operations indefinitely, primarily due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, which forced cruise ships to discontinue operations to destinations in Alaska. There is very little air tour operator data available for 2020 and 2021, resulting in a limited ability to collect Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) data during this specific period for aircraft flying in the Ketchikan, Alaska area.