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ANC89FA100

1989-06-21 · ANCHORAGE, Alaska, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

N8773Q has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (BOEING 737-8, built 2022), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE FAILURE OF THE PILOT TO CONDUCT A PROPER PRE-FLIGHT INSPECTION AND REMOVE THE TAIL MOORING FROM THE FLOAT PLANE. CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WAS THE PILOT'S OVER CONFIDENCE IN HIS PERSONAL ABILITY.

Factual narrative

THE ACCIDENT REPORT SUBMITTED BY THE FLYING CLUB CHIEF INDICATED THAT THE PILOT DID NOT RELEASE THE TAIL TIEDOWN DURING HIS PREFLIGHT INSPECTION. IT WAS ATTACHED TO A 4X4 POST IN A CONCRETE WEIGHT. DURING THE ATTEMPTED TAKEOFF THE AIRPLANE WOULD NOT GET ON STEP. THE TAKEOFF WAS ABORTED. A SECOND TAKEOFF WAS ATTEMPTED FROM THE MIDDLE OF THE LAKE. DURING THE TAKEOFF THE NOSE BEGAN TO PITCH UP APPROACHING A STALL. THE PILOT PUSHED THE YOKE FORWARD & THE AIRPLANE SETTLED BACK ONTO THE WATER JUST PRIOR TO IMPACT WITH THE LAKE'S DEPARTURE END SHORELINE. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1989_ANC89FA100.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

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