Piper PA-31-350 accident near Kodiak, AK
On January 5, 2008, a Piper PA-31-350 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Kodiak, AK. 6 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- January 5, 2008
- Place
- Kodiak, AK
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31-350 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 6 fatal, 3 serious, 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 57.751°N, 152.469°W
- NTSB ID
- 20080116X00063
Official records · ANC08MA038
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- Transcript of Radio Communications: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On January 5, 2008, about 1343 Alaska standard time, a twin-engine Piper PA-31-350 airplane, N509FN, received substantial damage when it collided with ocean water following a loss of control shortly after takeoff from Runway 36 at the Kodiak Airport, Kodiak, Alaska. The airplane was being operated by Servant Air, Inc., Kodiak, as a visual flight rules (VFR) on-demand charter flight under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 135, when the accident occurred. Of the 10 people aboard, the airline transport pilot and 5 passengers died at the scene, 3 passengers sustained serious injuries, and 1 passenger sustained minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and company flight following procedures were in effect. The flight was en route to Homer, Alaska. During an initial hospital room interview with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), on January 5, about 2200, a passenger related that the purpose of the flight was to transport a group of commercial fishermen from Kodiak to Homer for Russian Christmas. He added that many of the passengers were family members that lived in the same community near Homer. The passenger stated that he was seated in the third row on the right side of the airplane. He said that shortly after becoming airborne, he saw the airplane's nose baggage door open slightly, which he said initially startled the pilot. He said that while the airplane was still over the departure end of Runway 36, the pilot initiated a shallow right turn, presumably to return to
Probable cause
The failure of company maintenance personnel to ensure that the airplane's nose baggage door latching mechanism was properly configured and maintained, resulting in an inadvertent opening of the nose baggage door in flight. Contributing to the accident were the lack of information and guidance available to the operator and pilot regarding procedures to follow should a baggage door open in flight a
More accidents in AK
- Beech 1900C, Nov 23, 1987
- Textron Aviation Inc 208B, Feb 6, 2025
- Dehavilland DHC-3, Jul 7, 2013
- Cessna 208, Oct 10, 2001
- Dehavilland DHC-3, Jun 25, 2015
Browse: Alaska · Piper aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
