20260207000359I

Incident · No damage

FAA incident report · Piper PA-31-350 · Bethel, AK · February 7, 2026

Date
February 7, 2026 · 14:50 local
Place
Bethel, AK
Airport
Bethel
Phase of flight
Takeoff: Climb Out
Operating rules
Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
Operator
T72A
Damage
No damage
Aircraft
N41189
Reported as
Piper PA-31-350
People aboard
6
Fatal injuries
0
Other injuries
0
Pilot’s certificate
Airline transport
Pilot’s flight hours
6,000 total

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry 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.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

The aircraft departed Bethel and experienced a turbocharger failure on the left engine. The PIC declared an emergency with Bethel tower, returned, and landed without incident. While taxiing, the left engine nacelle caught fire, prompting Bethel Airport emergency personnel to respond.

As the FAA filed it

THE AIRCRAFT DEPARTED BETHEL AND EXPERIENCED A TURBOCHARGER FAILURE ON THE LEFT ENGINE. THE PIC DECLARED AN EMERGENCY WITH BETHEL TOWER, RETURNED, AND LANDED WITHOUT INCIDENT. WHILE TAXIING, THE LEFT ENGINE NACELLE CAUGHT FIRE, PROMPTING BETHEL AIRPORT EMERGENCY PERSONNEL TO RESPOND.