Piper PA-34-200T accident near Blanding, Utah, August 13, 1998
On August 13, 1998 at about 8:15 pm local time, a Piper PA-34-200T, registered N6935C, was substantially damaged in an accident near Blanding, Utah (Blanding Municipal airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 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 pilot's inadequate landing flare, causing components of the nose wheel landing gear to fracture.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 13, 1998 · about 8:15 pm local time
- Place
- Blanding, Utah · Blanding Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-34-200T · all PA-34-200Ts on the register
- Registration
- N6935C · no longer on the register · serial 34-7870167
- 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 pilot told his employer that the nose landing gear would not extend, and he diverted to another airport where he landed with the nose gear retracted. Inspection disclosed damage consistent with a hard landing. Two witnesses later reported having observed the hard landing. A passenger aboard the airplane later corrborated the report. The pilot was later terminated and attempts to contact him were unsuccessful.
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; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,151 hours in all; 2,101 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 10,189 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 7, 1998; 11 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,570 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-360-EB (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: FLG Flagstaff AZ at 6:30 pm
- Destination: Q32 Chinle AZ
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 17, 6,000 ft by 72 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 250° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 93°F (34°C), dew point 41°F (5°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:53 pm from CNY, 73 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
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 N6935C the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.