# Accident 19990611021989A: Piper PA31350, Tanana, AK, June 11, 1999 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: June 11, 1999, 07:23 local time - Place: Tanana, AK - Airport: Ralph M Calhoun Memorial - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Normal Cruise - Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135) - Operator: FWRA - Location: 65.1791° N, 152.0699° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=65.1791&lon=-152.0699&mi=10 - Aircraft: N41078, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N41078-2000-05-04) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Piper PA-31-350 (registry code 7103110, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-31-350) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA31350 - Reported engine: LYC TIO540J2B - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 1 - Pilot flight hours: 3,227 total, 861 in this make and model - NTSB investigation: [NTSB ANC99FA074](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC99FA074) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990611021989A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (.19) ON JUNE 11, 1999, ABOUT 0723 ALASKA DAYLIGHT TIME, A PIPER PA-31-350 AIRPLANE, N41078, WAS DESTROYED BY IMPACT WITH TREES AND THE YUKON RIVER, ABOUT 1.5 MILES SOUTHWEST OF TANANA, ALASKA. THE AIRPLANE WAS BEING OPERATED AS A SCHEDULED PASSENGER/CARGO FLIGHT FROM FAIRBANKS, ALASKA, TO TANANA, TO GALENA, ALASKA, UNDER VISUAL FLIGHT RULES (VFR) AS FLIGHT 1604 UNDER TITLE 14 CFR PART 135. THE AIRPLANE WAS OPERATED BY LARRY'S FLYING SERVICE INC., FAIRBANKS. THE CERTIFICATED AIRLINES TRANSPORT PILOT, THE SOLE OCCUPANT, RECEIVED FATAL INJURIES. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED. VFR COMPANY FLIGHT FOLLOWING PROCEDURES WERE IN EFFECT. THE DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS FOR THE COMPANY REPORTED THAT FLIGHT 1604 DEPARTED FAIRBANKS ABOUT 0631 AND WAS CARRYING ONLY CARGO. THE FLIGHT LANDED AT THE RALPH M. CALHOUN MEMORIAL AIRPORT, TANANA ABOUT 0712, AND SOME CARGO WAS UNLOADED. ABOUT 1,300 POUNDS OF CARGO REMAINED ON THE AIRPLANE. THE AIRPLANE DEPARTED RUNWAY 24 ABOUT 0718 FOR GALENA. A WITNESS ON THE GROUND SAID THE AIRPLANE APPEARED TO DEPART NORMALLY, BUT REMAINED LOW, FLYING OVER THE YUKON RIVER, ABOUT 200 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND. AFTER DEPARTURE, THE PILOT CONTACTED A LOCAL WEATHER OBSERVATION FACILITY AT TANANA ON THE COMMON TRAFFIC ADVISORY FREQUENCY (CTAF), AND REPORTED HE WAS HAVING A PROBLEM WITH THE AIRPLANE, STATING HE MAY HAVE TO DITCH. HE DID NOT DESCRIBE THE NATURE OF THE PROBLEM. THE PILOT THEN SAID HE WAS CLIPPING TREES, AND WAS ATTEMPTING TO RETURN TO THE RUNWAY. THE AIRPLANE COLLIDED WITH SEVERAL TREES LOCATED ON A GRAVEL BAR IN THE YUKON RIVER, SEPARATING THE OUTBOARD END OF THE LEFT WING. THE AIRPLANE THEN COLLIDED WITH THE WATER AND SANK. PORTIONS OF THE LEFT WING, AND THE LEFT ENGINE AND FUSELAGE, HAVE BEEN RECOVERED FROM THE RIVER. AN INITIAL EXAMINATION OF THE LEFT ENGINE INDICATED THE PROPELLER APPEARED TO BE FEATHERED. THE RIGHT WING AND THE RIGHT ENGINE HAVE BEEN LOCATED IN THE RIVER, BUT HAVE NOT YET BEEN RECOVERED. (-23)IT APPEARS THAT AT SOME POINT AFTER TAKEOFF ^PRIVACY^ EXPERIENCED A LOSS OF POWER WITH THE LEFT ENGINE. BECAUSE OF RISING TERRAIN ON HIS RIGHT SIDE, HE MADE A LEFT TURN AND WHILE ATTEMPTING TO RETURN TO THE AIRPORT, OR LAND THE A/C ON A GRAVEL BAR, WHICH WAS MID-CHANNEL AND TO HIS LEFT BETWEEN HIM AND THE AIRPORT, HE COLLIDES WITH SEVERAL TREES WHICH RESULTED IN THE A/C LOSING THE OUTBOARD PORTION OF THE LEFT WING AND LOSS OF CONTROL. THE A/C IMPACTED THE WATER AND SANK. (.4) A TWIN-ENGINE AIRPLANE ON A SCHEDULED PASSENGER/CARGO FLIGHT, DEPARTED A RURAL AIRPORT LOCATED ALONG THE NORTH SHORE OF THE YUKON RIVER WITH ONLY THE PILOT ABOARD. THE AIRPLANE APPEARED TO DEPART NORMALLY, BUT REMAINED LOW, FLYING OVER THE RIVER, ABOUT 200 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND. ABOUT FIVE MINUTES AFTER DEPARTURE, THE PILOT CONTACTED A LOCAL WEATHER OBSERVATION FACILITY ON THE COMMON TRAFFIC ADVISORY FREQUENCY (CTAF), AND REPORTED HE WAS HAVING A PROBLEM WITH THE AIRPLANE, STATING HE MAY HAVE TO DITCH. HE DID NOT DESCRIBE THE NATURE OF THE PROBLEM. THE PILOT THEN SAID HE WAS CLIPPING TREES, AND WAS ATTEMPTING TO RETURN TO THE RUNWAY. THE AIRPLANE COLLIDED WITH SEVERAL TREES LOCATED ON A GRAVEL BAR IN THE YUKON RIVER, SEPARATING THE OUTBOARD END OF THE LEFT WING. THE AIRPLANE THEN COLLIDED WITH THE RIVER AND SANK, ABOUT 1.5 MILES SOUTH OF THE AIRPORT. A FAST RIVER CURRENT, AND SILTY WATER CONDITIONS HAMPERED RECOVERY EFFORTS, BUT THE LEFT WING, THE LEFT ENGINE, AND THE FUSELAGE WERE RECOVERED FROM THE RIVER. THE LEFT ENGINE PROPEL LER APPEARED TO BE FEATHERED. THE RIGHT WING AND THE RIGHT ENGINE WERE NOT RECOVERED. POSTACCIDENT EXAMINATION OF THE LEFT ENGINE DISCLOSED NO EVIDENCE THAT IT WAS PRODUCING POWER UPON IMPACT, OR ANY EVIDENCE OF ANY PREIMPACT MECHANICAL MALFUNCTION. INSPECTION OF THE AIRFRAME DISCLOSED NO EVIDENCE OF ANY PREIMPACT MECHANICAL MALFUNCTION. ## 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 ANC99FA074](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC99FA074), Jun 11, 1999: Piper PA-31-350 (N41078), Tanana, AK, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: Undetermined. ## Other reports on N41078 (1) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Incident 19860609036139I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19860609036139I), Jun 9, 1986: Piper PA31350 (N41078), Nulato, AK, Minor damage. Landed gear up after selecting gear down and verifying with lights. Suspect mechanical failure. 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.