Saab 2000 accident near Unalaska, Alaska, October 18, 2019
On October 18, 2019 at about 2:40 am local time, a 1995 Saab 2000, registered N686PA, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (landing roll) near Unalaska, Alaska (Unalaska airport). It was flown under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 1 person was killed, 1 person was seriously injured and 3 people had minor injuries; 37 others were unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The landing gear manufacturer’s incorrect wiring of the wheel speed transducer harnesses on the left main landing gear during overhaul. The incorrect wiring caused the antiskid system not to function as intended, resulting in the failure of the left outboard tire and a significant loss of the airplane’s braking ability, which led to the runway overrun. Contributing to the accident were (1) Saab’s design of the wheel speed transducer wire harnesses, which did not consider and protect against human error during maintenance; (2) the Federal Aviation Administration’s lack of consideration of the runway safety area dimensions at Unalaska Airport during the authorization process that allowed the Saab 2000 to operate at the airport; and (3) the flight crewmembers’ inappropriate decision, due to their plan continuation bias, to land on a runway with a reported tailwind that exceeded the airplane manufacturer’s limit. The safety margin was further reduced because of PenAir’s failure to correctly apply its company-designated pilot-in-command airport qualification policy, which allowed the accident captain to operate at one of the most challenging airports in PenAir’s route system with limited experience at the airport and in the Saab 2000 airplane.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 18, 2019 · about 2:40 am local time
- Place
- Unalaska, Alaska · Unalaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed, 1 person was seriously injured and 3 people had minor injuries; 37 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Saab 2000 No Series, built 1995
- Registration
- N686PA · registry record · serial 2000-017
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative preliminary · quoted from the NTSB record
On October 17, 2019, about 1740 Alaska daylight time, PenAir flight 3296, a Saab 2000, N686PA, overran the runway while landing at the Thomas Madsen Airport (PADU), Unalaska, Alaska. The airplane passed through the airport perimeter fence, crossed a road, and came to rest on shoreline rocks. Of the 42 passengers and crewmembers on board, 1 passenger was fatally injured, and several other passengers sustained serious or minor injuries. The airplane received substantial damage. The regularly scheduled domestic passenger flight was operating under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121 from Ted Stevens International Airport (KANC), Anchorage, Alaska, to PADU.
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
What happened, in order
- Runway excursion during landing (landing roll) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Maintenance › Scheduled/routine maintenance › Other
- Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Main landing gear › Incorrect service/maintenance
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › (general) › Attain/maintain not possible
- Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Pilot
- Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Wind › Tailwind › Decision related to condition
- Organizational issues › Development › Design › Equipment design › Manufacturer
- Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Land gear sys wiring › Design
- Organizational issues › Management › Policy/procedure › (general) › Operator
- Organizational issues › Support/oversight/monitoring › Oversight › Oversight of operation › FAA/Regulator
- Environmental issues › Operating environment › Airport facilities/design › (general) › Decision related to condition
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 14,630 hours in all; 134 in this make and model; 11,679 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Co-pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,446 hours in all; 147 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Cabin Crew
- Seat: rear
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 12,617 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, October 16, 2019
- Maximum gross weight: 50,700 lb
- Seats: 48
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Rolls-Royce AE2001A (turboprop); 19,267 hours total
- Engine 2: Rolls-Royce AE2001A (turboprop); 26,210 hours total
- Operator: Peninsula Aviationservices Inc.,
The flight
- Departed from: ANC Anchorage AK at 11:30 pm
- Destination: PADU Unalaska AK
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 13, 4,500 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: broken clouds at 3,900 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 43°F (6°C), dew point 36°F (2°C)
- Altimeter: 29.52 inHg
- Observation at 5:56 pm
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cabi | 1 | |||
| Flight crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 1 | 3 | 34 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
40 documents, released by the NTSB on December 16, 2020. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
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.