Cessna C-402 accident near Tatitlek, Alaska, May 10, 1989
On May 10, 1989 at about 10:55 pm local time, a Cessna C-402, registered N966JW, was substantially damaged in an accident near Tatitlek, Alaska (Tatitlek airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
INSTALLATION OF THE IMPROPER WASHER ON THE SCISSORS ASSEMBLY OF THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR. THE EXTRA FORCES ENCOUNTEREDON A GRAVEL RUNWAY WERE SUFFICIENT TO PULL THE BUSHING, WASHER, AND BOLT THROUGH THE SCISSORS ASSEMBLY AND ALLOWING THE LOWER HALF TO PIVOT FREELY.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 10, 1989 · about 10:55 pm local time
- Place
- Tatitlek, Alaska · Tatitlek · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna C-402
- Registration
- N966JW · no longer on the register · serial 4020066
- 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
THE PILOT-IN-COMMAND TOUCHED DOWN ON THE GRAVEL RUNWAY AND BEGAN TO APPLY BRAKES. THE AIRPLANE BEGAN TO VEER TO THE LEFT AND THE PILOT RELEASED THE BRAKES AND USED ASYMMETRIC POWER AND BRAKING, BUT THE AIRPLANE STILL LEFT THE RUNWAY ABOUT MIDWAY DOWN THE RUNWAY. SUBSEQUENT EXAMINATION REVEALED THAT A SMALL WASHER PLACED BENEATH THE BOLT HEAD, WHICH HOLDS THE UPPER AND LOWER SCISSORS ASSEMBLY TOGETHER, HAD PULLED THROUGH ON THE LEFT MAIN GEAR ALLOWING THE LOWER HALF OF THE MAIN GEAR TO PIVOT FREELY.
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; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 11,025 hours in all; 80 in this make and model; 229 in the last 90 days; 88 in the last 30 days; 7,677 as pilot in command; 1,250 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,881 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, April 20, 1989; 55 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,300 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520-E (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MRI Anchorage AK at 4:55 pm
- Destination: AK47 Tatitlek AK
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 12, 2,200 ft by 95 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 130° at 7 knots
- Sky: not recorded; scat at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 4 |
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 N966JW 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.