Piper PA-31-350 accident near Selawik, Alaska, April 26, 1997
On April 26, 1997, a Piper PA-31-350, registered N59985, was substantially damaged in an accident near Selawik, Alaska (Selawik airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to extend the landing gear. A factor associated with the accident was the pilot's diverted attention while in the landing pattern.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 26, 1997
- Place
- Selawik, Alaska · Selawik · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31-350 · all PA-31-350s on the register
- Registration
- N59985 · no longer on the register · serial 31-7552077
- 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 he was in the airport traffic pattern preparing for a full stop landing. While accomplishing his prelanding check list, his attention was diverted by a departing airplane. When he reduced engine power just prior to touchdown, he heard the gear warning horn sound, but was unable to react in time to prevent a wheels up landing.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 3,820 hours in all; 456 in this make and model; 164 in the last 90 days; 83 in the last 30 days; 3,381 as pilot in command; 553 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,948 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, March 18, 1997; 86 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 7,368 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming TIO-540-J2BD (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: IAN Kiana AK at 7:05 pm
- Destination: WLK
- Flight plan: not recorded
- Runway 3, 3,000 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 050° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 50 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 39°F (4°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
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 N59985 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.