Piper PA-31T accident near Kenai, Alaska, March 31, 1991
On March 31, 1991 at about 1:31 am local time, a Piper PA-31T, registered N308SC, was substantially damaged in an accident near Kenai, Alaska (Kenai airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 10 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE FAILED NOSE GEAR SHIMMY DAMPNER, CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WAS THE ROUGH ICE AND SNOW COVERED RAMPS WHERE THE AIRPLANE HAD BEEN OPERATING AND THE LACK OF MAINTENANCE ON THE RUNWAYS.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 31, 1991 · about 1:31 am local time
- Place
- Kenai, Alaska · Kenai · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 10 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31T · all PA-31Ts on the register
- Registration
- N308SC · registry record · serial 31T-8275008
- 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 REPORTED AN UNSAFE NOSE GEAR LIGHT, FOLLOWING THE AFTER TAKEOFF GEAR RETRACTION. THE PILOT WAS UNABLE TO LOWER THE NOSE GEAR AND LANDED AT THE DESTINATION AIRPORT WITH IT RETRACTED. INVESTIGATION FOUND THAT THE NOSE GEAR SHIMMY DAMPNER HAD FAILED AND HAD BECOME JAMMED IN THE WHEEL WELL WHEN RETRACTED. THE FAILED SHIMMY DAMPNER WAS BLAMED ON THE ROUGH ICE AND SNOW COVERED RAMPS AT THE ORIGIN AND DESTINATION AIRPORTS.
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, foreign licence
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,760 hours in all; 167 in this make and model; 167 in the last 90 days; 100 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,508 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, March 7, 1991; 80 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 9,000 lb
- Seats: 9
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PT-6A-11 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: South Central Air, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: ANC Anchorage AK
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 1, 7,575 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 21°F (-6°C), dew point 19°F (-7°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:41 am from ENA, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 9 |
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.
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.