Piper PA-32R accident near Fairbanks, Alaska, March 27, 2000
On March 27, 2000 at about 2:23 pm local time, a Piper PA-32R, registered N8540F, was substantially damaged in an accident near Fairbanks, Alaska (Fairbanks International airport). 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 instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's misjudgment of distance/altitude, and subsequent undershoot during landing. Factors in the accident were light snow precipitation, flat light conditions, snow-covered terrain, and the absence of a visual approach slope indicator.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 27, 2000 · about 2:23 pm local time
- Place
- Fairbanks, Alaska · Fairbanks International · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32R · all PA-32Rs on the register
- Registration
- N8540F · registry record · serial 32R-7780108
- 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 commercial certificated pilot obtained a Special VFR clearance and departed on the first portion of a cargo flight. The visibility at the airport was 2 1/2 miles in light snow. After departure, the pilot said the sky condition worsened, becoming more obscured and indefinite. He decided to return to the airport and obtained a Special VFR clearance back to the airport. He was cleared to land on a runway which does not have a visual approach slope indicator (VASI). During the landing approach, the pilot said he could see the approach end of the runway, but the lighting conditions were very flat. The airplane collided with snow-covered terrain, about 25 yards short of the approach end of the runway. The landing gear was sheared off, and the airplane received damage to the engine cowling, belly structure, and wing spars.
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: commercial pilot, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 5,314 hours in all; 1,200 in this make and model; 196 in the last 90 days; 84 in the last 30 days; 4,164 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-K1A5 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PAFA at 2:08 pm
- Destination: WBQ Beaver AK
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 19L, 3,190 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 214° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 2.5 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 3,500 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 9°F (-13°C), dew point 7°F (-14°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:34 pm from PAF
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.