# NTSB ANC98LA167: Piper PA-31-350, N4112D, Noorvik, AK, September 17, 1998 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: September 17, 1998, 11:06 local (19:06 UTC) - Place: Noorvik, AK - Coordinates: 66.829818, -161.029174 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=66.8298&lon=-161.0292&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 4 uninjured - Status: Completed, report February 16, 2001 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - NTSB case key (mKey): 44124 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC98LA167 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/44124/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC98LA167 ## Probable cause A failure of the pilot to follow the aircraft checklist, and an 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 - checklist - not followed, pilot in command (cause) - wheels up landing - inadvertent, pilot in command (cause) ## Analysis The certificated airline transport pilot was landing on a gravel runway during a scheduled air taxi flight. The pilot touched down on the runway with the flaps extended, but the landing gear was still retracted. The airplane received extensive damage to the airplane skin and fuselage stringers, in an area from the nose wheel gear doors to the lower wing spar fitting. ## Factual narrative On September 17, 1998, about 1106 Alaska daylight time, a Piper PA-31-350 airplane, N4112D, sustained substantial damage during landing at the Robert Curtis Memorial Airport, Noorvik, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) scheduled domestic passenger flight under Title 14 CFR Part 135 when the accident occurred. The airplane was registered to, and operated by Bering Air Inc., Nome, Alaska. The certificated airline transport pilot, and the three passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. A VFR flight plan was filed. The flight originated at the Bob Baker Memorial Airport, Kiana, Alaska, about 1056. The Director of Operations for the operator reported the airplane, operated as Flight 622, was landing on runway 02 at Noorvik. The gravel surface runway is 2,200 feet long, and 50 feet wide. The pilot touched down on the runway with the flaps extended, but the landing gear was still retracted. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airworthiness inspector, Fairbanks Flight Standards District Office (FSDO), inspected the airplane at the operator's maintenance facility in Nome, on September 28, 1998. The inspection revealed extensive damage to the airplane skin and fuselage stringers, in an area from the nose wheel gear doors to the lower wing spar fitting. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N4112D](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N4112D), registered now, S/N 31-8353004 (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) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 31-8353004 - Airframe hours: 19783 - Engines: Lycoming TIO-540-J2BD 350 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Part 135 - Registered owner: Bering Air Inc. - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: AAIP, September 13, 1998, 20 hours before - Departed: PAIK, KIANA, AK - Destination: ORV - Flight plan: VFR - Airport: ORV, Bob Curtis Memorial, runway 2, 2,200 × 50 ft, gravel ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 30; commercial, flight instructor, airline transport; airplane ratings: multi-engine sea, single-engine land, single-engine sea, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; seat: left; flight hours: 2,830 total, 269 in this make and model ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 90° at 3 knots - Visibility: 15 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 1,500 ft overcast - Temperature: 39 °F ## 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 19980917024889A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980917024889A), Sep 17, 1998: Piper PA31350, Noorvik, AK, Substantial damage. Bering air taxi crashed on landing and sustianed unknown damage. (-23)pilot in command flew from kotzebue to selawik, kiana and failed to lower the landing… ## Other investigations on N4112D (3) 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 ANC26LA005](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC26LA005), Nov 17, 2025: Piper PA-31-350 (N4112D), Eek, AK, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot’s loss of directional control when the airplane encountered snow and ice on the runway while landing at night in gusting crosswind conditions. - [NTSB ANC93LA105](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC93LA105), Jun 29, 1993: Piper PA-31-350 (N4112D), Gambell, AK, no damage. Probable cause: INTENTIONAL PERSONAL INJURY. FACTORS IN THE ACCIDENT WERE: THE PERSON'S PSYCHOLOGICAL CONDITION, AND THE LACK OF SUFFICIENT PROCEDURES/AIRPORT STAFF BY THE OPERATOR(S). - [NTSB ANC85FA041](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC85FA041), Jan 27, 1985: Piper PA-31-350 (N4112D), Savoonga, AK, substantial damage 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.