- Date
- May 18, 1988, 09:40 local (17:40 UTC)
- Place
- Skwentna, AK
- Injuries
- 3 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N897PPiper PA-32-260
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 28, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19880518014679A
- Case key
- 4953
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The on-demand air taxi flight with the pilot and two passengers struck the rock face of a mountain at the 8600 foot level. According to witnesses at the time of the accident the weather conditions were poor and visibility was less than one-half mile. The aircraft was on a company VFR flight plan and no weather briefing was obtained either by telephone or radio in flight. The operator did not file an acc report.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N897P
- Reported as
- Piper PA-32-260
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 32301
- Airframe hours
- 1,294
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540-E4B5, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Part 135
- Registered owner
- Jay Hawk Air Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · May 2, 1988 · 100 hours before
- Departed
- MRI · Anchorage, AK
- Destination
- MLG · Mcgrath, AK
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 37
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 3,120 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Temperature
- 46 °F, dew point 34 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.