Piper PA-31 accident near Fairbanks, Alaska, July 8, 2006
On July 8, 2006 at about 5:40 pm local time, a Piper PA-31, registered N41185, was substantially damaged in an accident near Fairbanks, Alaska (Fairbanks airport). It was an other work-use 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 pilot's inadvertent landing with the landing gear retracted, which resulted in structural damage to the airplane.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 8, 2006 · about 5:40 pm local time
- Place
- Fairbanks, Alaska · Fairbanks · 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
- N41185 · no longer on the register · serial 31-8553001
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Other work-use flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airline transport certificated pilot was conducting a maintenance test flight related to the airplane's navigation instrumentation under Title 14, CFR Part 91. In a written statement the pilot reported that when he returned from the maintenance flight the tower asked him to expedite the landing due to traffic. He said he put the flaps and gear down, and checked the nose gear in a mirror on the left engine. He indicated that in the mirror, the nose gear appeared to be "extending in a normal manner." He reported that upon touchdown all 3 landing gear collapsed. The director of operations said the airplane was taken to a maintenance facility where landing gear extension and retraction tests were performed, and no anomalies were noted. Photographs provided by the operator showed no damage to the left or right main landing gear tires, wheels, or landing gear leg doors. The photographs do show abrasions and scratches parallel to the fuselage's longitudinal axis on the exterior of both the left and right main landing gear wheel doors, consistent with ground contact in the closed (gear retracted) position. An additional photograph showed abrasions and scratches on the exterior of both nose wheel doors parallel to the longitudinal axis of the fuselage. In a written statement the operator suggested that the gear unsafe horn should be wired through the audio panel, so as to be more easily heard by pilots wearing noise attenuating headsets. The airplane received structural damage to the bottom of the fuselage, stringers, and bulkheads.
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, commercial pilot, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: helicopter; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 23,400 hours in all; 350 in this make and model; 26 in the last 90 days; 11 in the last 30 days; 18,000 as pilot in command; 4,500 on instruments
- Last flight review: May 1, 2006
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme
- Maximum gross weight: 7,368 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming TIO-540-J (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Everts Air Alaska
The flight
- Departed from: PAFA Fairbanks AK
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 19R, 11,800 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 260° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 8,000 ft; scat at 6,000 ft
- Temperature: 59°F (15°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 29.94 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.
Other NTSB records under N41185 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.