Piper PA-31 accident near Soldotna, Alaska, October 11, 1999
On October 11, 1999 at about 9:30 pm local time, a Piper PA-31, registered N74923, was substantially damaged in an accident near Soldotna, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
An in-flight collision with a bird.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 11, 1999 · about 9:30 pm local time
- Place
- Soldotna, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31 · all PA-31s on the register
- Registration
- N74923 · no longer on the register · serial 31-7305066
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot stated that while in cruise at 2,500 feet above sea level (msl), he felt the airplane shudder. He noticed blood on the tip of the right horizontal stabilizer, and realized the airplane had struck a bird which he had not seen. The pilot indicated the airplane did not require any trim changes after the impact. The pilot returned the airplane to Anchorage. A postflight inspection revealed substantial damage to the airplane's right horizontal stabilizer, requiring replacement of the stabilizer assembly.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,213 hours in all; 114 in this make and model; 134 in the last 90 days; 17 in the last 30 days; 2,149 as pilot in command; 1,608 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 12,304 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, October 2, 1999; 3 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 7,368 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming TIO-540-J2BD (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: ANC Anchorage AK at 4:00 pm
- Destination: SWD Seward AK
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 45°F (7°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.