- Date
- August 16, 1991, 20:00 local (Aug 17, 1991, 04:00 UTC)
- Place
- Ruby, AK
- Injuries
- 3 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N9026EMaule M-5
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 23, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19910816034499A
- Case key
- 5488
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
A loss of control inflight due to improper aircraft handling and alcohol impairment.
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
A witness stated he saw the airplane approach their location when it suddenly banked left and crashed into the middle of the yukon river. FAA records show that the person seated in the pilot's seat had his commercial pilot certificate revoked on July 10, 1991, for operating a civil aircraft under the influence and with a blood alcohol level in excess of .04 percent. The toxicological report for this accident showed that the pilot had a blood alcohol level of .195 percent.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9026E
- Reported as
- Maule M-5
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 7063C
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540-J1A5D, 235 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Jesse G. Clifton
- Registered owner
- Moeder, Rudy F.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Unknown · January 2, 2000
- Departed
- FAI · Fairbanks, AK
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
- 43
- Certificates
- Commercial, Private
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 15,000 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 64 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.