# NTSB ANC02LA022: Piper PA-31-350, N3527U, Fairbanks, AK, March 13, 2002 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: March 13, 2002, 15:53 local (19:53 UTC) - Place: Fairbanks, AK - Coordinates: 64.813613, -147.859725 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=64.8136&lon=-147.8597&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 9 uninjured - Status: Completed, report June 18, 2002 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - Parties: Fairbanks FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 54346 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC02LA022 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/54346/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=54346 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC02LA022 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to complete his prelanding checklist, and a subsequent inadvertent wheels up landing. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Wheels up landing, landing - flare/touchdown - wheels up landing - inadvertent, pilot in command (cause) - checklist - not complied with, pilot in command (cause) ## Analysis Upon entering the pattern, the pilot was given instructions by the tower controllers he had not anticipated. In complying with the instructions, he altered his normal landing procedures, and failed to complete his before landing checklist. He subsequently landed the airplane with the landing gear retracted. The airplane sustained substantial damage to fuselage stringers and skin. ## Factual narrative On March 13, 2002, about 1553 Alaska standard time, a Piper PA-31-350 airplane, N3527U, sustained substantial damage during an inadvertent wheels-up landing, at the Fairbanks International Airport, Fairbanks, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) scheduled passenger flight under Title 14, CFR Part 135, when the accident occurred. The airplane was operated by Warbelow Air Ventures, Inc., of Fairbanks, as Flight 605. The airline transport pilot and the eight passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and the winds were light and variable at the time of the accident. A company VFR flight plan was active. The flight originated at the Fort Yukon Airport, Fort Yukon, Alaska, about 1503. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), on March 14, the pilot said as he entered the pattern, he was told by the tower to cross over and enter right traffic for runway 1. The tower then told him he would have to extend downwind because of traffic. The pilot said he made a conscious decision not to put the landing gear down at the usual point because of the request to extend his pattern. He said as he started to extend his pattern, the tower asked him to expedite a base turn, and "keep it tight." The pilot said on the base leg, he again failed to complete his checklist. He said on the final leg of his approach, the airplane behind him said they were too close, and they were going to go around. In the confusion, he said he never completed his before landing checklist, and landed the airplane with the landing gear retracted. The pilot said that fatigue added to his confusion, which lead to the accident. During a telephone conversation with the IIC on March 14, the director of maintenance for the operator said the forward third of the longitudinal stringers and several bulkheads of the fuselage will have to be replaced, due to damage incurred during the accident. He noted that once the airplane was raised off of the runway, the landing gear functioned normally, and the three green landing gear warning lights illuminated. In a letter to the NTSB dated March 14, the pilot reiterated most of his earlier statements. He added that the landing gear warning horn did not activate because of the unusually high power setting used to, "keep it tight," as requested by the tower. He expounded on his earlier statement that fatigue added to his confusion, saying that he had not slept well the night before, and that annual training demands had added to his workload. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N3527U](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N3527U), registered now, S/N 31-7952141, built 1979 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Piper PA-31-350 - Registry model: [Piper PA-31-350](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-31-350) (registry code 7103110) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming TIO-540-J2BD](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-tio-540-j2bd) (registry code 41977, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 317952161 - Airframe hours: 20891.5 - Engines: Lycoming TIO-540-J2BB 350 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Part 135 - Registered owner: Warbelow Air Ventures, Inc. - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: AAIP, March 10, 2002, 10.4 hours before - Departed: PFYU, Fort Yukon, AK - Destination: PAFA, Fairbanks, AK - Flight plan: Company VFR - Airport: FAI, Fairbanks International, runway 01L, 11,800 × 150 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 52; injuries: none; flight instructor, airline transport, commercial; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; last flight review November 7, 2001; seat: left; flight hours: 5,330 total, 1,349 in this make and model, 5,152 as pilot in command, 352 in the last 90 days, 115 in the last 30 days, 4 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 21 °F, dew point -6 °F - Altimeter: 30.12 inHg - Observed at: PAFA ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20020313003329A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020313003329A), Mar 13, 2002: Piper PA31350, Fairbanks, AK, No damage. (.19) On March 13, 2002, about 1553 Alaska standard time, a Piper PA-31-350 airplane, N3527U, sustained substantial damage during an inadvertent wheels-up… ## Other investigations on N3527U (2) 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 ANC02LA086](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC02LA086), Jul 30, 2002: Piper PA-31-350 (N3527U), Fairbanks, AK, no damage. Probable cause: The failure of both pilots to maintain adequate visual outlook while taxiing. - [NTSB ANC98LA120](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC98LA120), Aug 12, 1998: Piper PA-31-350 (N3527U), Fort Yukon, AK, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to follow the pre-landing checklist. A factor associated with the accident was the pilot's diverted attention. ## Docket (2 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 26, 2002, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=54346. 747 KB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 443 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40392709&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF - Pilot's Statement (item 2, .PDF, 303 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40392710&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%27s%20Statement-Redacted.PDF 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. --- 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.