Beech 58 accident near Hoonah, Alaska, July 8, 2003
On July 8, 2003 at about 1:00 am local time, a Beech 58, registered N3178A, was substantially damaged in an accident near Hoonah, Alaska (Hoonah airport). It was a positioning flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 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
The locking of the left brake during the landing roll, which resulted in the collapse of the left main landing gear.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 8, 2003 · about 1:00 am local time
- Place
- Hoonah, Alaska · Hoonah · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech 58 · all 58s on the register
- Registration
- N3178A · registry record · serial TH-3
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Positioning flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot said that during the landing roll, the airplane veered sharply to the left, and he applied hard right brake and right rudder to maintain the runway heading. The left main landing gear subsequently collapsed, and the airplane came to rest on the left edge of the runway. The pilot said he found heavy left main wheel skid marks on the runway, and a State of Alaska Department of Transportation worker located parts of the left brake assembly on the runway, 300 feet from the airplane. The left wing, left nacelle, and left main landing gear of the airplane were damaged in the accident.
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; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 13,000 hours in all; 200 in this make and model; 170 in the last 90 days; 50 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,380 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 4, 2003; 40 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,400 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Jac, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: PAJN Juneau AK at 7:45 pm
- Destination: PAOH Hoonah AK
- Runway 5, 2,997 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 260° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 23°F (-5°C), dew point 10°F (-12°C)
- Altimeter: 29.71 inHg
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.