Short Bros. & Harland SC7 accident near Chisana, Alaska, June 8, 2022
On June 8, 2022 at about 7:00 am local time, a 1968 Short Bros. & Harland SC7, registered N731E, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (landing roll) near Chisana, Alaska (Chisana Airport). It was a business flight under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 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
The pilot’s selection of an unsuitable landing site, which resulted in the nosewheel collapsing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 8, 2022 · about 7:00 am local time · cases in 2022
- Place
- Chisana, Alaska · Chisana Airport · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Short Bros. & Harland SC7, built 1968 · all SC7s on the register
- Registration
- N731E · registry record · serial SH-1853
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business flight · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot of a twin-engine, turbine-powered airplane was landing at a remote, rough, soft, turf and grass covered airstrip at the completion of a Part 135 cargo flight. He said that after an uneventful touchdown, as the airplane’s landing roll slowed, the right main landing gear wheel and the nose wheel contacted an area of soft, muddy terrain. The airplane’s nose wheel collapsed, and it subsequently folded under the fuselage. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot reported no mechanical problems that would have precluded normal operations.
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
What happened, in order
- Landing gear collapse during landing (landing roll) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Pilot
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Terrain › Wet/muddy terrain › Contributed to outcome
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 2,700 hours in all; 600 in this make and model; 75 in the last 90 days; 75 in the last 30 days; 2,350 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: June 2, 2021
- Medical certificate: Class 2
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, June 6, 2022; 12 hours since
- Seats: 20
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine 1: Garrett TPE-331-2 (turboprop); 9,507 hours total
- Engine 2: Garrett TPE-331-2 (turboprop); 11,225 hours total
- Operator: Viking Air LLC
The flight
- Departed from: PAOR Northway AK at 6:24 am
- Runway 12, 3,000 ft by 50 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Sky: scat
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 2 |
Photographs from the investigation 3 pictures from the NTSB's docket, as the NTSB released them
Photo 1 - Photo of accident airplane, after recovery and during repairs. (Photo
Photo 2 - Photo of accident airplane which depicts substantial damage to lower fuselage/belly. (Photo
Photo 3 - Photo of accident airplane, left side (photoThe NTSB's photographs with the NTSB's captions, at screen size. Open a picture to see it full size or to report one that should not be shown.
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
2 documents, released by the NTSB on April 20, 2023. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 12 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Photos | PDF, 3 pages · our copy | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N731E on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Short Bros. & Harland SC-7 27 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Short Bros. & Harland 33 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Garrett TPE-331-2 3 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Engine: Garrett TPE-331-2 3 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Chisana Airport · nearest airport
- Northway Airport · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in Alaska 5,932 since 1982 · 826 in the last ten years
- Alaska 9,144 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/ANC22LA042.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.