NTSB ANC83FA080 — 1983-05-21 · KING SALMON, Alaska, United States

Current FAA registration · N1822M

Make / Model: CURTISS WRIGHT C-46F
Year of manufacture: 1945 · 38 years old at event
Engine: P & W R-2800 SERIES (2000 hp)
Seats / Engines: 65 seats · 2 engines
Last airworthiness date: 20170427
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A14AC4

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N1822M CURTISS-WRIGHT C-46F None

Factual narrative

THE COPLT REPORTED THAT THE ACFT HAD BEEN IN LEVEL CRUISE FLT APRX 1 MIN WHEN THEY FELT A VIBRATION, FOLLOWED BY A LOUD BANG. THE AIRCREW SAW FIRE & SMOKE COMING FROM THE LEFT ENG, SO THEY SHUT DOWN THE ENG & FEATHERED THE PROPELLER. THE PLT ALSO ACTIVATED THE FIRE WALL CUTOFF SYS & THE FIRE EXTINGUISHER, WHICH HE SAID, EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE. THE AIRCREW DIVERTED BACK TO THE DEPARTURE AIRPORT, BUT WHEN THEY TRIED TO EXTEND THE GEAR, THE LEFT MAIN FAILED TO EXTEND & THE RIGHT MAIN ONLY PARTIALLY EXTENDED. THE RIGHT MAIN COULD NOT BE RETRACTED, SO THE ACFT WAS LANDED WITH THE GEAR IN THAT POSITION. AFTER A CRASH LANDING, AIR FORCE CRASH/RESCUE PERSONNEL EXTINGUISHED AN ON-GOING FIRE IN THE LEFT ENG. AN INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THE #8 CYLINDER, PN 113149, HAD FAILED. SUBSEQUENTLY; FIRE HAD BURNT THE HYDRAULIC OPERATED COWL FLAPS & HYDRAULIC FLUID WAS PUMPED OVERBOARD. THE MANUAL/HYDRAULICALLY OPERATED GEAR UPLOCKS ON THE RIGHT MAIN GEAR OPERATED, BUT HYDRAULIC FLUID IN THE RESERVOIR BECAME DEPLETED. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1983_ANC83FA080.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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