Piper PA-31-350 accident near Anchorage, Alaska, January 5, 1999
On January 5, 1999 at about 6:25 pm local time, a Piper PA-31-350, registered N6GR, was substantially damaged in an accident near Anchorage, Alaska (Anchorage International airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 6 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 driver of a vehicle to maintain an adequate visual lookout.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 5, 1999 · about 6:25 pm local time
- Place
- Anchorage, Alaska · Anchorage International · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 6 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31-350 · all PA-31-350s on the register
- Registration
- N6GR · registry record · serial 31-7752130
- 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, with five passengers, was taxiing to the operator's facility at the conclusion of an on-demand air taxi flight. The taxiway connects the main airport complex with outlying operator's facilities around the perimeter of a lake. The taxiway had private airplane tie-down lots located along its length. A snowplow equipped pickup truck was removing snow from a private airplane tie-down spot, located alongside the taxiway. The truck, operated by the owner of the tie-down spot, was equipped with a metal lumber rack in the bed of the truck. While positioning the truck, the owner backed across the taxiway, into the path of the accident airplane. A portion of the lumber rack struck the outboard end of the left wing of the airplane, damaging 3 feet of the leading edge, including several wing ribs. The airport permits limited vehicular traffic on the taxiway, primarily service vehicles and aircraft owners. It is not open for use by the general public. There are two signs located about 50 feet from the point of collision. One sign that faces south reads, 'Caution Aircraft Operation Area - Yield to all Aircraft.' A second sign that faces north reads, 'Aircraft Only - No Vehicles or Pedestrians on Taxiway.'
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 10,000 hours in all; 1,200 in this make and model; 320 in the last 90 days; 120 in the last 30 days; 9,800 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,290 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, December 21, 1998; 32 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 7,369 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming TSIO-540-J2B2 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: C05 Chenega Bay AK at 5:40 pm
- Destination: ANC
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 095° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 2,500 ft; scat at 1,500 ft
- Temperature: 5°F (-15°C), dew point 1°F (-17°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:30 pm from ANC, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| 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.