Maule M-4-220C accident near Mcgrath, Alaska, June 24, 1999
On June 24, 1999 at about 8:20 pm local time, a Maule M-4-220C, registered N40677, was substantially damaged in an accident near Mcgrath, Alaska. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
A separation of the number 4 engine cylinder, and a fracture of the number 4 engine connecting rod.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 24, 1999 · about 8:20 pm local time
- Place
- Mcgrath, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Maule M-4-220C · all M-4-220Cs on the register
- Registration
- N40677 · registry record · serial 2181C
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airline transport pilot reported that about 15 minutes after departure, the engine began to run rough, and lose power. He said that while performing the engine emergency procedures, he smelled smoke in the cabin, and he selected a forced landing area on a river bank bordered by trees. During the landing roll, the airplane's left wing collided with a stand of trees, the airplane pivoted 180 degrees to the left, and the left main landing gear collapsed. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings, fuselage, and empennage. An FAA airworthiness inspector from the Anchorage Flight Standards District Office, examined the airplane wreckage on June 24th. The inspector reported that the top portion of the number four engine cylinder was separated between the cylinder barrel and the cylinder head, and added that the piston connecting rod was fractured.
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: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 8,500 hours in all; 1,100 in this make and model; 90 in the last 90 days; 30 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,370 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 31, 1998; 160 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Franklin 6A-350-C1 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: UUO Willow AK at 12:30 pm
- Destination: MCG AK
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 350° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 7,000 ft; scat at 5,500 ft
- Temperature: 68°F (20°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:53 pm from MCG, 7 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
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.