Curtiss-Wright C-46F accident near King Salmon, Alaska, May 21, 1983
On May 21, 1983 at about 7:46 pm local time, a Curtiss-Wright C-46F, registered N1822M, was substantially damaged in an accident near King Salmon, Alaska (King Salmon airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind 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
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 21, 1983 · about 7:46 pm local time
- Place
- King Salmon, Alaska · King Salmon · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Curtiss-Wright C-46F
- Registration
- N1822M · registry record · serial 22521
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · large-aircraft private carriage rules (Part 125)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE COPLT REPORTED THAT THE ACFT HAD BEEN IN LEVEL CRUISE FLT APRX 1 MIN WHEN THEY FELT A VIBRATION, FOLLOWED BY A LOUD BANG. THE AIRCREW SAW FIRE & SMOKE COMING FROM THE LEFT ENG, SO THEY SHUT DOWN THE ENG & FEATHERED THE PROPELLER. THE PLT ALSO ACTIVATED THE FIRE WALL CUTOFF SYS & THE FIRE EXTINGUISHER, WHICH HE SAID, EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE. THE AIRCREW DIVERTED BACK TO THE DEPARTURE AIRPORT, BUT WHEN THEY TRIED TO EXTEND THE GEAR, THE LEFT MAIN FAILED TO EXTEND & THE RIGHT MAIN ONLY PARTIALLY EXTENDED. THE RIGHT MAIN COULD NOT BE RETRACTED, SO THE ACFT WAS LANDED WITH THE GEAR IN THAT POSITION. AFTER A CRASH LANDING, AIR FORCE CRASH/RESCUE PERSONNEL EXTINGUISHED AN ON-GOING FIRE IN THE LEFT ENG. AN INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THE #8 CYLINDER, PN 113149, HAD FAILED. SUBSEQUENTLY; FIRE HAD BURNT THE HYDRAULIC OPERATED COWL FLAPS & HYDRAULIC FLUID WAS PUMPED OVERBOARD. THE MANUAL/HYDRAULICALLY OPERATED GEAR UPLOCKS ON THE RIGHT MAIN GEAR OPERATED, BUT HYDRAULIC FLUID IN THE RESERVOIR BECAME DEPLETED.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 18,200 hours in all; 5,300 in this make and model; 70 in the last 90 days; 18,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 24,875 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, January 14, 1983; 99 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 48,000 lb
- Seats: 3
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W R-2800-S1M1 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 11, 8,500 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 150° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 2,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 46°F (8°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:55 pm from AKN
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.
Other NTSB records under N1822M 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.