Fairchild SA227-AC accident near Anchorage, Alaska, August 22, 1997
On August 22, 1997 at about 8:40 am local time, a Fairchild SA227-AC, registered N27188, was substantially damaged in an accident near Anchorage, Alaska (Anchorage International airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 7 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the baggage tug driver's disregard for wet taxiway/ramp conditions, which resulted in his inability to avoid a taxiing airplane as he came around the end of a concourse building. Darkness, rain, and the wet ramp conditions were related factors.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 22, 1997 · about 8:40 am local time
- Place
- Anchorage, Alaska · Anchorage International · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 7 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Fairchild SA227-AC · all SA227-ACs on the register
- Registration
- N27188 · no longer on the register · serial AC-708
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
A scheduled domestic passenger flight, operating under Title 14 CFR Part 121, was taxiing from the terminal toward the departure runway. Adjacent to the end of the terminal building, an airport baggage tug appeared from around the end of the concourse building. The driver of the tug attempted to stop, but was unable to avoid colliding with the outboard end of the right wing of the airplane. The cab portion of the tug struck the wing, about 4 feet inboard from the tip. The wing sustained crushing, and tearing of the leading edge. The tug's brakes were ineffective from wet surface conditions or due to a mechanical malfunction. Rain was falling at the time, and the airport ramps were wet.
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: airplane single-engine; instructor: glider; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 8,800 hours in all; 900 in this make and model; 310 in the last 90 days; 108 in the last 30 days; 8,200 as pilot in command; 900 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 14,412 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, August 18, 1997; 29 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 16,000 lb
- Seats: 19
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Garrett TPE-331 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Destination: ENA Kenai AK
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 350° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,700 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 52°F (11°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:50 am from ANC
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 5 |
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.