Fairchild SA227-AT accident near Anchorage, Alaska, July 28, 1988
On July 28, 1988 at about 2:17 am local time, a Fairchild SA227-AT, registered N482SA, was substantially damaged in an accident near Anchorage, Alaska (Anchorage Int'L airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 8 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
- July 28, 1988 · about 2:17 am local time
- Place
- Anchorage, Alaska · Anchorage Int'L · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 8 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Fairchild SA227-AT · all SA227-ATs on the register
- Registration
- N482SA · registry record · serial AC-482
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING THE TAXI TO THE RUNWAY, THE FLIGHT CREW NOTED A VIBRATION IN THE AIRPLANE AND STOPPED TO CHECK THE TIRES, THINKING THAT THEY WERE UNDERINFLATED. NO OBVIOUS PROBLEM WAS SEEN, AND THEY ELECTED TO TAKEOFF. SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF, A FIRE ERUPTED IN THE LEFT MAIN GEAR WHEELWELL. THE PILOT RETURNED TO THE AIRPORT AND LANDED SAFELY. HOWEVER, THE AIRPLANE SUSTAINED EXTENSIVE DAMAGE TO THE LEFT WING AND AILERON CONTROL SYSTEM. EXAMINATION OF THE BRAKES REVEALED A COCKED THERMAL INSULATOR IN THE PISTON BORE. THERE WAS EVIDENCE THAT THE BRAKES WERE WORN, HAD BEEN DRAGING, THEN OVERHEATED; AND THAT THE TIRES HAD EXPLODED PRIOR TO THE FIRE. THE FIRE DAMAGE INDICATED THAT THE FIRE HAD STARTED NEAR THE BRAKES. AN ALUMINUM FITTING WAS USED AS PART OF THE HYDRAULIC BRAKE SYSTEM ON THE STEEL BRAKE HOUSING. THE EXAM INDICATED THAT THE FITTING HAD BEEN INSTALLED BUT COULD NOT BE FOUND AFTER THE FIRE. THE CREW SAID THAT THEY DELAYED LOWERING THE GEAR, IN CONTRADICTION TO THE CHECKLIST REQUIREMENT WHEN THE WHEELWELL AND WING OVERHEAT LIGHT IS ON.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 14,800 hours in all; 2,650 in this make and model; 293 in the last 90 days; 145 in the last 30 days; 12,700 as pilot in command; 776 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 10,546 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, July 24, 1988; 70 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 14,500 lb
- Seats: 20
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Garrett TPE-331-1146 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Destination: DLG Dillingham AK
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 14, 10,496 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 170° at 16 knots, gusting 23
- Visibility: 60 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 6,000 ft
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:20 pm from ANC
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 6 |
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 N482SA 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.