Everts Air Cargo Douglas C-118A “Liftmaster” (N451CE) on Flight 25 was substantially damaged when it struck a berm and damaged the landing gear while inbound to land in Candle, Alaska. There were no injures to the three crew members onboard.
According to the captain, after overflying AK75 they entered the traffic pattern to land on runway 20. He stated that the approach was steeper than normal due to terrain; however, the sight picture indicated touchdown near the threshold of the 3,880 ft runway. A bump was felt near the threshold during the landing but was not extreme. The airplane’s propellers were then put into reverse and the airplane veered to the right. The flight engineer applied asymmetric reverse, in an effort, to correct for the right turning tendency, and the airplane tracked straight for about 2,000 ft before it veered sharply to the right, exited the runway and spun 180. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. An inspection of the threshold of runway 20 revealed several 4 ft tall piles of rocks and dirt.