Piper PA-31-T3 incident near Anchorage, Alaska, January 28, 1992
On January 28, 1992 at about 1:25 pm local time, a Piper PA-31-T3, registered N314SC, suffered minor damage in an incident near Anchorage, Alaska (Anchorage International airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 7 people were on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE PILOT'S CONTINUED TAXI AFTER BECOMING LOST OR DISORIENTED. FACTORS RELATING TO THE ACCIDENT WERE THE WHITEOUT CONDITIONS CAUSED BY THE FRESHLY FALLING AND BLOWING SNOW AND THE INADEQUATE SNOW REMOVAL BY AIRPORT PERSONNEL.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 28, 1992 · about 1:25 pm local time
- Place
- Anchorage, Alaska · Anchorage International · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 7 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31-T3 · all PA-31-T3s on the register
- Registration
- N314SC · no longer on the register · serial 31T-8275007
- 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
THE PILOT LANDED ON RUNWAY 6R AND WAS CLEARED TO TAXI VIA TAXIWAY 'G'. AFTER CLEARING THE RUNWAY, THE PILOT TURNED ONTO THE TAXIWAY AND CONTINUED ACROSS RUNWAY 6L ON THE SAME GROUND TRACK AS THE TAXIWAY BETWEEN THE TWO RUNWAYS. HOWEVER, TAXIWAY 'G' DOES NOT ALIGN WITH ITSELF ONCE REACHING THE NORTHWEST SIDE OF RUNWAY 6L. THE PILOT STATED HE WAS UNABLE TO SEE THE TAXIWAY LIGHTS OR THE TAXIWAY SIGN AND CONSEQUENTLY TAXIED INTO A SNOWBANK. THE VISIBILITY WAS AT LEAST 3/4 OF A MILE AND LOWER DUE TO TAXIING TURBOJET AIRCRAFT. EXAMINATION OF THE TAXIWAY LIGHTS AND SIGN SHOWED THAT SOME OF THE TAXIWAY LIGHTS WERE OBSCURED BY THE SNOW DEPTH AND THE SIGN WAS NOT VISIBLE BECAUSE THERE WAS SNOW ADHERING TO THE FACE.
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, commercial pilot, foreign licence
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,956 hours in all; 600 in this make and model; 270 in the last 90 days; 90 in the last 30 days; 2,750 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,396 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, January 22, 1992; 17 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 9,000 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PT6A-11 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: South Central Air INC.
The flight
- Departed from: ENA Kenai AK at 1:00 pm
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 6, 10,900 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 060° at 4 knots
- Sky: overcast at 1,800 ft
- Temperature: 19°F (-7°C), dew point 18°F (-8°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:24 pm from ANC, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| 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 N314SC 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.