Piper PA-31-350 incident near Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, August 10, 1988
On August 10, 1988 at about 3:12 pm local time, a Piper PA-31-350, registered N3589B, suffered minor damage in an incident near Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (Will Rogers World airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this incident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 10, 1988 · about 3:12 pm local time
- Place
- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma · Will Rogers World
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31-350 · all PA-31-350s on the register
- Registration
- N3589B · registry record · serial 31-8052134
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE FLIGHT WAS AN INSTRUCTIONAL FLIGHT WITH THREE PILOTS ONBOARD. THE AIRPLANE DEPARTED ON RUNWAY 17R AND WAS 300 TO 400 FEET AGL WHEN ONE BLADE OF THE RIGHT PROPELLER SEPARATED FROM THE HUB, FOLLOWED BY THE REMAINDER OF THE PROPELLER. THE PIC MADE AN IMMEDIATE RIGHT TURN AND ENTERED DOWNWIND FOR RUNWAY 12, AND THEN LANDED ON THAT RUNWAY. EXAMINATION REVEALED FRACTURE RESULTED FROM FATIGUE CRACKS THAT INITIATED AT THE GREASE HOLES IN THE FORWARD HALF OF THE PROPELLER HUB.
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; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,962 hours in all; 441 in this make and model; 50 in the last 90 days; 47 in the last 30 days; 2,912 as pilot in command; 1,683 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,907 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, June 15, 1988; 48 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 7,045 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming TI0-540-J2BD (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: FAA
The flight
- Departed from: OKC Oklahoma City OK at 5:10 pm
- Runway 17R, 7,800 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 170° at 13 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 15,000 ft
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 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.