Piper PA-31-310 N27987

Summary

On 25 September 2003 at about 00:00 local time, a Piper PA-31-310 registered N27987, operated by Alaska Air Taxi, Inc., was involved in an accident near Cape Yakataga, Alaska, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

25 September 2003 at 00:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Cape Yakataga, Alaska, United States

Nearest airport

Yakataga (CYT)

Coordinates

55.9197, -159.4893

Aircraft

Piper PA-31-310

Registration

N27987

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Alaska Air Taxi, Inc.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Anchorage → Cape Yakataga

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC03LA125

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to follow the prelanding checklist, which resulted in a wheels up landing when he neglected to lower the airplane's landing gear. A factor in the accident was the pilot's diverted attention associated with turbulence and a wet airstrip.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airline transport certificated air taxi pilot was positioning the airplane to pickup passengers at a remote airstrip. He reported that he encountered low level turbulence and strong winds during the approach to land, and was unsure if he could complete the landing. As he turned the airplane onto the final approach segment, he said the turbulence diminished, and he elected to land. He indicated that there was a large pool of water on the runway, and he decided to land longer than normal in order to miss the water. Soon after passing the water pool, the airplane settled to the runway, with the landing gear still retracted. The pilot said there were no mechanical problems with the airplane, and that he simply forgot to lower the landing gear. He said the gear up warning horn did not activate because of the increased power setting he used to fly over the pool of water. He indicated he became distracted during the approach to land because of the turbulence and the water on the runway, and neglected to complete the prelanding checklist.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.