- Date
- December 9, 1990, 10:15 local (14:15 UTC)
- Place
- Fairbanks, AK
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N3809YBeech BE-77
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 2, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19901209057909A
- Case key
- 5513
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-in-command's failure to properly perform the aircraft preflight resulting in a collision with a tow bar during initial taxi.
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 pilot stated that he was starting to taxi to the runway and at that point the nose wheel tow bar was still connected to the nose gear. The propeller struck the tow bar causing the tow bar to strike the left wing. The left wing was substantially damaged.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3809Y
- Reported as
- Beech BE-77
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- WA-212
- Airframe hours
- 3,441
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 115 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- U.S. Air Force, doing business as Eielson Afb Flying Club
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · November 12, 1990 · 5 hours before
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- EIL · Eielson Afb
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
- 38
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 364 total · 67 in this make and model · 329 as pilot in command · 44 in the last 90 days · 7 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- -15 °F, dew point 19 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.