Douglas DC-4 accident near Mcgrath, Alaska, May 30, 2007
On May 30, 2007 at about 8:00 pm local time, a Douglas DC-4, registered N898AT, was substantially damaged in an accident near Mcgrath, Alaska (Nixon Fork Mine airport). It was flown under large-aircraft private carriage rules (Part 125). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
An undershoot and collision with the runway when the pilot misjudged the distance/altitude during the landing flare/touchdown.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 30, 2007 · about 8:00 pm local time
- Place
- Mcgrath, Alaska · Nixon Fork Mine · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Douglas DC-4
- Registration
- N898AT · registry record · serial 42994
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight · large-aircraft private carriage rules (Part 125)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The captain was making a VFR landing approach to a remote mining airstrip in a modified Douglas DC-4 airplane at the end of a cross-country nonscheduled cargo flight. The modified airplane had a raised cockpit above the fuselage to accommodate an upward swinging nose door. During the landing flare/touchdown, the airplane undershot the runway threshold, and right main landing gear struck the lip of the runway. The right main landing gear was torn off, which allowed the nose and right wing to collide with the runway surface. The right wing was torn off the fuselage and caught fire. The fuselage, containing the cargo of fuel bladders, slid to a stop and rolled about 90 degrees to the left. The pilot indicated that due to the additional cockpit height of the modified airplane, versus a standard Douglas DC-4 airplane, the airplane was lower than he perceived.
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: 21,658 hours in all; 13,600 in this make and model; 158 in the last 90 days; 75 in the last 30 days; 21,000 as pilot in command; 2,000 on instruments
- Last flight review: May 1, 2006
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Co-pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,086 hours in all; 399 in this make and model; 195 in the last 90 days; 49 in the last 30 days; 571 as pilot in command; 59 on instruments
- Last flight review: October 1, 2006
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rear
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 55,753 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, May 1, 2007; 2 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 71,000 lb
- Seats: 5
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Pratt & Whitney R-2000 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: PAFA Fairbanks AK at 1:30 pm
- Destination: AK40 Mcgrath AK
- Runway 16, 4,200 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 080° at 5 knots, gusting 10
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 50°F (10°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.60 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.