Beech 18 accident near Fairbanks, Alaska, July 6, 1996
On July 6, 1996 at about 6:00 pm local time, a Beech 18, registered N700WA, was substantially damaged in an accident near Fairbanks, Alaska (Van Curler'S Bar 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
The malfunction of the propeller control unit on the right engine.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 6, 1996 · about 6:00 pm local time
- Place
- Fairbanks, Alaska · Van Curler'S Bar · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech 18
- Registration
- N700WA · registry record · serial BA28
- 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 landing on the gravel airstrip, as the pilot placed the propellers into reverse, the airplane began to veer left. He applied right brake and continued to apply more reverse on the right engine. He was unable to control the airplane, and the airplane departed the left side of the airstrip and encountered brush and rough terrain. Examination of the engines revealed that a pin in the right engine propeller control unit, on which the propeller control cam slides, separated. The cockpit propeller control operates the control cam directly. Examination of the fracture surface of the pin disclosed that the pin failed in overload.
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, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 20,000 hours in all; 1,000 in this make and model; 250 in the last 90 days; 95 in the last 30 days; 13,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 11,128 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, June 12, 1996; 42 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 11,500 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Garrett TPE-331-1-101 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Fs Air Service
The flight
- Departed from: ANC Anchorage AK at 11:30 am
- Destination: Fairbanks AK
- Runway 0, 3,000 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 99 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.
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.