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ANC89LA089

1989-06-11 · ALEXANDER RIVER, Alaska, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE FAILURE OF THE PILOT TO LAND AT THE PROPER TOUCHDOWN POINT AND THE RESULTING HARD LANDING. DAMAGE TO THE AIRPLANE PRECLUDED A GO-AROUND AND RESULTED IN THE INTENTIONAL SWERVE INTO A RIVER TO AVOID INJURIES TO PEOPLE ON THE GROUND.

Factual narrative

THE AIRPLANE WAS LANDED LONG ON AN UNIMPROVED STRIP. IT TOUCHED DOWN HARD WHICH RESULTED IN THE PROPELLER STRIKING THE GROUND. A GO-AROUND WAS ATTEMPTED UNSUCCESSFULLY BECAUSE OF INSUFFICIENT THRUST FROM THE DAMAGED PROPELLER. THE PILOT INTENTIONALLY SWERVED THE AIRPLANE INTO THE ADJACENT RIVER TO AVOID PEOPLE & EQUIPMENT ON THE FAR END OF THE STRIP. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1989_ANC89LA089.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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