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Alpine airstrip crash blow to Alaska’s air cargo fleet DC-6 swingtail was last of kind flying in world, shippers still have options for outsized cargo loads but will pay more for larger C-130 By Steve Sutherlin PNA Managing Editor
When a Northern Air Cargo Inc. DC-6B veered off the Alpine oil field airstrip Sept. 25 no serious injuries occurred. The loss of the aircraft, however, dealt a blow to Alaska’s cargo fleet because the swingtail-modified plane was the only one of its kind flying in the world.
The swing tail cargo opening on Northern Air Cargo’s N867TA allowed straight-in loading of pipe up to 40 feet long, and drive-on loading of vehicles exceeding 16 feet in length. Northern Air Cargo can still accommodate vehicles of under 16 feet in length or pipes 20 feet to 30 feet long through the side doors of its remaining DC-6 planes or its Boeing 727 100 cargo planes, said Todd Wallace, Northern Air Cargo vice president of sales.
For now, longer loads require the use of the Lockheed C130 Hercules transport, considerably more expensive to operate than the DC-6. Lynden Air Freight has a C130 based in Alaska that is already picking up the slack left by the loss of the DC-6. The C-130 is a workhorse that can carry 48,000 pounds of outsized cargo. The role of the C130 in the development of the state and of the oilfields is legendary. Oilfield and bush shippers can still get big things to remote places, but will miss the pocketbook-friendly swingtail DC-6 for loads under 28,000 pounds.
A unique and rare aircraft Only three swingtail DC-6 planes were built, and in the early days Sabena and Finnair in Europe operated them, said Jeff Landrum, Northern Air Cargo director of quality control. According to aviation sources, the first swingtail was envisioned as a way to get vehicles across the English Channel. One of the first three swingtails was lost years ago, but the versatility of the remaining two planes kept them busy around the globe with loads regular aircraft couldn’t handle. As unique aircraft often do, the two swingtails made their way to Alaska when Northern Air Cargo added them to a growing DC-6 fleet in the 1980s. The aircraft were economical and efficient for delivering outsized loads to roadless areas in the bush and in the oilfields.
Northern Air Cargo still owns the remaining swingtail and has it in storage in Fairbanks, Landrum said. The plane has run out of time and will require a complete airframe overhaul and Federal Aviation Administration inspection before it flies again. The company is considering putting the other swingtail into flying condition and could have it back in operation in six months.
Another option is to convert a standard DC-6 to a swingtail. The company has the original drawings in its possession, and the modification is approved by the FAA, Landrum said. Northern Air Cargo owns 12 DC-6 planes and is actively flying seven of them. Other than special inspections of the swingtail unit, the planes require no special maintenance, and are just as easy to operate as a standard version.
“We’ll probably have another one flying, maybe in the near future,” Landrum said.
Crash not fault of swingtail design According to initial National Transportation Safety Board findings, the swingtail design was not at fault in the Sept. 25 crash. The plane, with 20,000 pounds of oil drilling equipment loaded at Deadhorse, was on final approach to the Alpine airstrip; snow showers were present and visibility was reported at 4 miles. The captain told the National Transportation Safety Board that as the airplane passed over the airstrip threshold, a higher than normal sink rate was encountered. He said that the initial touchdown was “firm,” but was thought to be within acceptable tolerances. Just after touchdown, the left wing broke free from the airplane at the wing-to-fuselage attach point. The airplane veered off the left side of the 5,000-foot long by 75-foot wide runway, down an embankment, and came to rest in an area of wet, tundra-covered terrain. A post-crash fire heavily damaged the center section of the fuselage. The captain said that there were no pre-accident mechanical problems with the airplane.
An unknown amount of aviation fuel spilled on the tundra, according to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. An unknown amount of fuel also burned before the plane fire was put out. By noon Sept. 26, workers had removed 85 gallons of fuel from the plane and pumped 5,250 gallons of oily water from small ponds on the tundra, according to investigators. Workers also put up shore-seal booms to corral the contaminated area.
Lynden C130 gets busy Lynden sources said the company’s Alaska-based C130 is on a regular Tuesday through Saturday schedule, carrying charter loads on the weekends and at night. The company will consolidate smaller loads if possible to reduce the per-pound rate for smaller shipments. The charter prices vary depending on the time, the runway, weather, the length of the flight, payload, the logistics of positioning the plane for the mission and whether fuel must be bought at the destination.
The C130 can generally service the same runways as the DC-6; landing on ice, pavement or gravel with a minimum runway length of 3,500 feet.
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