Piper PA-31T-620 accident near Eugene, Oregon, September 23, 1988
On September 23, 1988 at about 12:58 pm local time, a Piper PA-31T-620, registered N234K, was substantially damaged in an accident near Eugene, Oregon (Mahlon Sweet airport). 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 instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. 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
- September 23, 1988 · about 12:58 pm local time
- Place
- Eugene, Oregon · Mahlon Sweet · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31T-620 · all PA-31T-620s on the register
- Registration
- N234K · no longer on the register · serial 2620017
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
PLT HAD IFR CLRNC AND WAS ON ILS APPROACH IN VMC ABOVE THIN FOG LAYER AT NIGHT. PLT HAD VISUAL CONTACT WITH RUNWAY ENVIRONMENT BUT COLLIDED WITH 10 FOOT TALL ILS MIDDLE MARKER ANTENNA/BUILDING 1/2 MILE FROM RUNWAY THRESHOLD, SEPARATING LEFT MAIN LNDG GEAR AND DAMAGING LEFT HORIZONTAL STAB. THE PLT DIVERTED TO A VFR FIELD AND LANDED. RADAR SHOWED ACFT AT 400 FT MSL WHEN 3/4 MILE FROM THRESHOLD. FIELD ELEV IS 365 FT MSL.
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: 16,000 hours in all; 5,000 in this make and model; 150 in the last 90 days; 50 in the last 30 days; 16,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,000 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, August 10, 1988; 40 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 9,000 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PT6-28 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Santiam Air, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: S12 Albany OR at 12:30 pm
- Destination: EUG Eugene OR
- Flight plan: VFR then IFR
- Runway 16, 6,202 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 020° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 25 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 1,800 ft
- Temperature: 41°F (5°C), dew point 41°F (5°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:55 am from EUG
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.