Short Bros. SC-7, McGrath, Alaska, Sept. 1 and Sept. 20, 2007–On September 1, the Arctic Circle Air Service Short Skyvan was substantially damaged when the nosegear strut collapsed on landing at a remote lodge’s gravel airstrip.
On September 10, Arctic Circle’s director of maintenance said that the fuselage received structural damage aft of the nosegear when it collapsed.
On September 20, the pilot of the Short was taking off for a flight to the company’s maintenance facility. The repairs had been completed and the pilot had obtained a ferry permit. The airplane lifted off near the end of the runway but gained only six or seven feet before hitting several trees, then a lake. The pilot was seriously injured and taken to the hospital, where he died five days later.