ANC90LA002

1989-10-01 · KWETHLUK, Alaska, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport KWT

Aircraft involved

N38393 Piper PA-32 None

Probable cause & findings

THE PILOT MISJUDGED HIS ALTITUDE AND DISTANCE FROM THE RUNWAY DRG THE APPROACH, WHICH RESULTED IN A PREMATURE TOUCHDOWN AND FAILURE OF THE RIGHT MAIN LANDING GEAR, WHEN IT HIT THE RUNWAY LIP. THE SUNGLARE AND LACK OF VISUAL CUES (VISUAL PERCEPTION) WERE CONTRIBUTING FACTORS.

Factual narrative

THE PILOT REPORTED HE WAS LANDING ON A 1700' AIRSTRIP THAT HE HAD ROUTINELY USED. HE SAID HE LANDED SLIGHTLY SHORT & BELOW THE RUNWAY GRADE, STRIKING THE RIGHT MAIN LANDING GEAR ON THE LIP OF THE RUNWAY. THE RIGHT MAIN GEAR FAILED & SEPARATED FROM THE WING, DAMAGING THE WING SPAR. THE PILOT SAID HE HAD SOME DIFFICULTY WITH THE APPROACH TO LANDING DUE TO SUNGLARE. ON A SUBSEQUENT APPLICATION FOR MED CERT, DATED 3/28/90, THE PLT RPRTD 8000 HRS OF FLT TIME. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1989_ANC90LA002.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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