Piper PA-31-350 accident near Fort Yukon, Alaska, August 12, 1998
On August 12, 1998 at about 4:20 am local time, a Piper PA-31-350, registered N3527U, was substantially damaged in an accident near Fort Yukon, Alaska (Fort Yukon airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 8 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to follow the pre-landing checklist. A factor associated with the accident was the pilot's diverted attention.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 12, 1998 · about 4:20 am local time
- Place
- Fort Yukon, Alaska · Fort Yukon · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 8 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31-350 · all PA-31-350s on the register
- Registration
- N3527U · registry record · serial 31-7952141
- 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 airline transport pilot was preparing to land a multiengine, retractable landing gear airplane. He reported that while on downwind for landing on runway 21, a passenger in the rear of the airplane distracted his attention while he was performing his prelanding checks, and he failed to lower the landing gear prior to landing. The pilot stated: ' I just forgot to put the gear down after talking to the passenger.' In his written statement to the NTSB, the pilot added that while on short final, a flock of large birds again distracted his attention from completing a 'final gear check before landing.' The airplane landed on its belly, slid for about 550 feet, and came to rest in the center of the runway, about 1,000 feet from the threshold of the approach end of runway 21. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage bulkheads, and belly skin. The pilot noted that there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane.
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; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,922 hours in all; 821 in this make and model; 297 in the last 90 days; 98 in the last 30 days; 2,398 as pilot in command; 565 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 16,283 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, August 4, 1998; 55 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 7,368 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming TIO-540 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: FAI Fairbanks AK at 10:10 pm
- Runway 21, 5,810 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 270° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 8,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:53 pm from PFY
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 7 |
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 N3527U the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ANC98LA120.