- Date
- May 20, 1989, 12:00 local (20:00 UTC)
- Place
- Tok Junction, AK
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N87TSPiper PA-31
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 28, 1991
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19890520014169A
- Case key
- 5188
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 lower the landing gear for landing. A factor related to the accident was his failure to use a checklist.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The commercial pilot & two other company employees were on a local flight to familiarize themselves with a newly acquired Piper navajo. The pilot reported that following a short flight, he did not consult the airplane's checklist & failed to lower the landing gear. The airplane landed gear-up & was damaged.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N87TS
- Reported as
- Piper PA-31
- Category
- Airplane
- Engine
- Lycoming TIO-540, 310 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Veteran'S Air Service
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Airport
- 6K8 · Tok, runway 7, 2,500 × 50 ft, asphalt
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
- 46
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 5,000 total · 600 in this make and model · 3,900 as pilot in command · 125 in the last 90 days · 50 in the last 30 days · 8 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 60 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 50 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.