Piper PA-31-350 incident near Nulato, Alaska, June 10, 1986
On June 10, 1986 at about 3:00 am local time, a Piper PA-31-350, registered N41078, suffered minor damage in an incident near Nulato, Alaska (Nulato airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind 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 NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this incident. 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
- June 10, 1986 · about 3:00 am local time
- Place
- Nulato, Alaska · Nulato · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31-350 · all PA-31-350s on the register
- Registration
- N41078 · no longer on the register · serial 31-8352017
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
A WITNESS ON THE GROUND WATCHED THE AIRPLANE FLY THE LANDING PATTERN FOR LANDING AND AT NO TIME DID HE SEE THE LANDING GEAR EXTEND. HE WATCHED THE AIRPLANE UNTIL IT PASSED BELOW THE TREE LINE. TESTING OF THE HYDRO-MECHANICAL AND ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS DID NOT REVEAL ANY PROBLEM. THE PILOT-IN-COMMAND STATED HE PLACED THE LANDING GEAR SWITCH IN THE DOWN POSITION AND SAW THREE GREEN INDICATOR LIGHTS, HOWEVER, HE DID NOT CONFIRM THE LANDING GEAR POSITION BY VIEWING THE NOSE GEAR IN THE MIRROR LOCATED ON THE SIDE OF THE ENGINE NACELLE. THE PASSENGER, A PILOT, STATED THAT AFTER LANDING HE HEARD A WARNING HORN SOUNDING IN THE COCKPIT.
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; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,370 hours in all; 135 in this make and model; 300 in the last 90 days; 1,950 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 800 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, May 29, 1986
- Maximum gross weight: 7,000 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming TIO-54-J2BF (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: KYU Koyukuk AK at 9:45 pm
- Destination: NUL Nulato AK
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 20, 3,000 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 330° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 50 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 5,000 ft
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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 N41078 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.