# Accident 19980717025609A: Piper PA28140, Bethel, AK, July 17, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 17, 1998, 21:00 local time
- Place: Bethel, AK
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: To Init Climb(1st Pwr Reduct)
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 60.8106° N, 161.8492° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=60.8106&lon=-161.8492&mi=10
- Aircraft: N1793J, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N1793J-1999-09-27) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-28-140 (registry code 7102802, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-140) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA28140
- Reported engine: LYC O320D2A
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 291 total, 212 in this make and model, 25 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ANC98LA101](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC98LA101) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980717025609A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(THERE WERE NO REMARKS HERE FROM THE .19 WHEN THE .4 REMARKS WERE ENTERED BY TF ON 12/28/99.) (FROM .4)  THE PILOT EXPERIENCED BINDING IN THE FLAPS DURING LANDING.  UNABLE TO FIND A PROBLEM, HE DECIDED TO TAKEOFF ON HIS RETURN FLIGHT.  DURING INITITAL CLIMB, THE MANUALLY OPERATED FLAPS ABRUPTLY RETRACTED.  THE PILOT WAS UNABLE TO HOLD THE FLAPS IN THE EXTENDED POSITION TO CLIMB, AND THE AIRPLANE CONTACTED TREES LOCATED IN THE DEPARTURE PATH.  INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THE FLAP POSITION LOCKING PIN, PART NUMBER 480-715 (59-040-187-1500), HAD FALLEN FROM ITS HOLE, BUT THE RETAINING ROLL PIN WAS STILL IN PLACE.  THE ONLY WAY TO REMOVE THIS PIN FROM THE HOLE IS TO FIRST REMOVE THE RETAINING PIN, OR FRACTURE IT IN TWO PIECES.  THE MISSING PIN WAS NOT RECOVERED, BUT A PHOTOGRAPH SHOWS A SIMILAR DIMENSIONED PIN LYING BELOW THE FLAP HANDLE ASSEMBLY.                                            (-23) DURING A PRACTICE APPROACH TO CANYON CREEK AIRSTRIP, THE PILOT ATTEMPTED TO RAISE THE FLAPS AFTER DECIDING TO ABORT.HE FOUND THE FLAP HANDLE BUTTON WAS STUCK AND COULD NOT RETRACT THE FLAPS SO HE DECIDED TO LAND AT CANYON CREEK. AFTER LANDING THE PILOT WAS ABLE TO FREE UP THE BUTTON BY JIGGLIN G THE HANDLE AND BUTTON. AFTER MAKING SEVERAL EXTENSIONS AND RETRACTIONS OF THE FLAPS, HE WAS SATISFIED WITH THEIR OPERATION AND TOOK OFF TO THE EAST. APPROXIMATELY 25 FEET IN THE AIR AFTER DEPARTURE, THE FLAPS INADVERTENTLY RETRACTED AND THE AIRCRAFT BEGAN TO SETTLE. THE PILOT GRABBED AND PULLED THE HANDLE TO LOWER THE FLAPS AND FOUND HE COULD NOT LET GO OF THE HANDLE BECAUSE IT WOULD NOT LOCK IN PLACE. THE AIRPLANE SETTLED, CLIPPED SOME TREES, CRASHED, AND BURNED ABOUT 150 FEET PAST THE RUNWAY. ALL PERSONS ESCAPED WITH MINOR INJURIES.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB ANC98LA101](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC98LA101), Jul 18, 1998: Piper PA-28-140 (N1793J), Bethel, AK, destroyed. Probable cause: The fracture of the flap handle position locking pin, which resulted in an uncommanded raising of the flaps during takeoff. A factor was the pilot's decision to takeoff with a suspected problem in…

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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