Piper PA-32-300 accident near Nenana, Alaska, July 14, 1998
On July 14, 1998 at about 6:30 pm local time, a Piper PA-32-300, registered N8698N, was substantially damaged in an accident near Nenana, Alaska (Nenana Municipal airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The failure of the FAA Flight Service Station specialist to issue an active Notice to Airmen that noted a hazardous condition on the runway. Factors associated with the accident are the rough and uneven runway, and inadequate runway maintenance by airport personnel.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 14, 1998 · about 6:30 pm local time
- Place
- Nenana, Alaska · Nenana Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32-300 · all PA-32-300s on the register
- Registration
- N8698N · registry record · serial 32-7240045
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The commercial air taxi pilot-in-command (PIC) was taking a routine competency flight check from an FAA inspector. The FAA inspector asked the PIC to perform a landing on a turf runway, and to stop short of a designated spot on the field. The pilot made an uneventful landing, but was unable to stop the airplane prior to the designated spot. The airplane continued to roll on the turf runway, but soon encountered a large, unseen, hole about midfield. The nosewheel entered the hole, and the nose landing gear subsequently collapsed. The PIC reported he had received a standard weather briefing via telephone from an FAA Flight Service Station specialist just prior to the flight, but had received no information about the hole in the middle of the runway. A review of the Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs) disclosed an active NOTAM regarding a 24 inch deep, by 6 feet wide hole, midfield of the runway the PIC landed on. This NOTAM was not given to the PIC during his weather briefing as required by the FAA Air Traffic Control procedures manual.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,257 hours in all; 34 in this make and model; 36 in the last 90 days; 11 in the last 30 days; 1,146 as pilot in command; 396 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,308 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, June 19, 1998; 51 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Bellair, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: FAI Fairbanks AK at 1:00 pm
- Runway 3C, 1,600 ft by 80 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:53 pm from ENN
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.
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.