Piper PA-31-350 accident near Point Hope, Alaska, May 24, 1996
On May 24, 1996 at about 10:38 pm local time, a Piper PA-31-350, registered N4109E, was substantially damaged in an accident near Point Hope, Alaska (Point Hope airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 2 people were seriously injured and 2 people had minor injuries; 2 others were unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadequate preflight to ensure the nose baggage door was properly latched, and the subsequent opening of the baggage compartment door, which allowed items to collide with the left propeller, resulting in propeller damage and loss of thrust from the left engine.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 24, 1996 · about 10:38 pm local time
- Place
- Point Hope, Alaska · Point Hope · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were seriously injured and 2 people had minor injuries; 2 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31-350 · all PA-31-350s on the register
- Registration
- N4109E · no longer on the register · serial 31-8353003
- 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 scheduled air taxi flight was to depart Point Hope, Alaska, with a destination of Wainwright, Alaska. While the airplane was on the ground at Point Hope, the station agent loaded the nose baggage compartment and closed the nose baggage door. The pilot visually checked the nose baggage door while standing on the wing next to the cockpit door. During the takeoff, at rotation, the nose baggage door came fully open. Baggage and boxes exited the nose baggage compartment and fell through the left engine's propeller. The pilot elected to land on sea ice. Just prior to touching down, the airplane started a slow, uncontrolled roll to the left. The passenger reported that when baggage exited the baggage compartment, a duffel bag hit the propeller; he described the propeller as being destroyed by the encounter. According to the pilot, the company training program included instructions concerning baggage door operation. The pilot was under the impression from informal discussions that the PA-31 airplane would not fly with the nose baggage door in the open position. The company training program did not discuss operations with an open nose baggage door.
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: 2,854 hours in all; 85 in this make and model; 2,000 as pilot in command; 765 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 11,070 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, May 1, 1996; 87 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 7,250 lb
- Seats: 9
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PHO at 5:38 pm
- Destination: AK03 Wainwright AK
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 1, 4,000 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 330° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 36°F (2°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 2 | 2 |
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 N4109E 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.