- Date
- September 30, 2025, 19:42 local (Oct 1, 2025, 03:42 UTC)
- Place
- Kotlik, AK
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N16SCPiper PA-31
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Landing gear not configured
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 22, 2026
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20250930014159A
- Case key
- 201809
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot’s failure to extend the landing gear before landing.
Findings · 4
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that while on the downwind leg of the traffic pattern he became distracted by a rain squall which resulted in his failure to extend the landing gear, and the airplane subsequently landed gear-up. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage during the gear-up landing. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N16SC
- Reported as
- Piper PA-31
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 31-639
- Built
- 1969
- Airframe hours
- 11,750.1
- Engines
- Lycoming TIO540-A2C, 210 horsepower, reciprocatingLycoming TIO-540-A2C, 210 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 135
- Operator
- Paklook Air, doing business as Yute Commuter Service
- Registered owner
- Western Alaska Aircraft Leasing
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 21, 2025
- Departed
- Z09 · Kasigluk, AK
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
- Airport
- PFKO · Kotlik Airport, runway 20, 4,400 × 100 ft, gravel
- Equipment
- Satellite tracking device, Stall warning system, Auto-pilot, ADS-B
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 51
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- May 13, 2025
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 3,034 total · 261 in this make and model · 2,888 as pilot in command · 337 in the last 90 days · 114 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 10 knots
- Temperature
- 34 °F, dew point 21 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.68 inHg
- Observed at
- PFKO
- METAR
- PFKO 301856Z AUTO 13013KT 10SM CLR 01/M06 A2968 RMK AO2 SLP049 T00061061 FZRANO $,M
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 22, 2026, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.5 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N16SC · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.