Piper PA-31-350 accident near Noorvik, Alaska, September 17, 1998
On September 17, 1998 at about 7:06 pm local time, a Piper PA-31-350, registered N4112D, was substantially damaged in an accident near Noorvik, Alaska (Bob Curtis Memorial airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
A failure of the pilot to follow the aircraft checklist, and an inadvertent wheels up landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 17, 1998 · about 7:06 pm local time · cases in 1998
- Place
- Noorvik, Alaska · Bob Curtis Memorial · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31-350 · all PA-31-350s on the register
- Registration
- N4112D · registry record · serial 31-8353004
- 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 certificated airline transport pilot was landing on a gravel runway during a scheduled air taxi flight. The pilot touched down on the runway with the flaps extended, but the landing gear was still retracted. The airplane received extensive damage to the airplane skin and fuselage stringers, in an area from the nose wheel gear doors to the lower wing spar fitting.
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; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,830 hours in all; 269 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 19,783 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, September 13, 1998; 20 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: PAIK Kiana AK at 1:56 pm
- Destination: ORV
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 2, 2,200 ft by 50 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 090° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,500 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 39°F (4°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
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 N4112D the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N4112D on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Piper PA-31 Navajo and Chieftain 934 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Piper 44,840 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Lycoming TIO-540-J2BD 24 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Bob Baker Memorial · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in Alaska 5,932 since 1982 · 825 in the last ten years
- Alaska 9,142 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N4112D 3 records · the number may have belonged to another aircraft at the time
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/ANC98LA167.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.