# NTSB ANC94LA013: Piper PA-32-301, N4327P, Karluk, AK, October 20, 1993 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: October 20, 1993, 11:15 local (15:15 UTC) - Place: Karluk, AK - Location: 57.5719° N, 154.4556° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Karluk, AK, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=57.5719&lon=-154.4556&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report August 30, 1994 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - NTSB case key (mKey): 2470 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC94LA013 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/2470/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC94LA013 ## Probable cause THE SELECTION OF UNSUITABLE TERRAIN FOR LANDING. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - In flight collision with object, landing - flare/touchdown - object - undetermined (contributing factor) - unsuitable terrain or takeoff/landing/taxi area - selected (cause) ## Analysis THE PILOT REPORTED THAT HE CIRCLED THE LANDING AREA ON A BEACH TWICE TO DETERMINE THE WIND AND SUITABILITY OF THE AREA. DURING THE FINAL STAGE OF THE LANDING FLARE (ABOUT TWO FEET ABOVE THE GROUND), HE HEARD A LOUD THUMP OFF THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE AIRPLANE. HE INTIATED A GO-AROUND AND OBSERVED A DENT IN THE OUTBOARD SECTION OF THE RIGHT WING. HE ELECTED TO LAND AT KING SALMON. AFTER LANDING, AN EIGHT INCH CIRCULAR GASH WAS FOUND IN THE LEADING EDGE OF THE RIGHT WING IN THE AREA OF THE OUTBOARD SPAR. A SUBSEQUENT INSPECTION OF THE BEECH AREA WAS MADE BY COMPANY PERSONNEL, BUT THEY COULD NOT IDENTIFY THE OBJECT THAT THE AIRPLANE HAD HIT. ## Factual narrative On October 20, 1993, at 1115 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Piper PA-32-301, N4327P, owned and operated by Peninsula Airways, Inc., dba PENAIR, struck an object during a landing attempt on Kanatak Beach. Kanatak is approximately 54 miles west of Karluk, Alaska, on the east coast of the Alaska peninsula. The commercial rated pilot-in-command, the sole occupant, was not injured and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The positioning flight, operating under 14 CFR Part 91, last departed King Salmon at 1030 and the destination was Kanatak Beach to pick up some freight from a previous charter. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a company flight plan was in effect. The pilot-in-command told the NTSB investigator-in-charge during a telephone conversation that he circled the landing area twice checking for conditions on the beach. He was in the final stage of the landing flare (about two feet off the ground) when he heard a loud thump off the right side of the airplane. He looked out along the right wing leading edge and observed a dent in the outboard portion of the wing. He balked the landing and returned to King Salmon. Upon landing, an eight inch circular gash was found along the leading edge of the right wing in the area of the outboard spar. A subsequent inspection of the beach area by company personnel in the days following the mishap could not determine the object that the airplane collided with. The results of the toxicology tests performed on the pilot were negative. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N4327P](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N4327P), registered now, S/N 32-8406002 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA-32-301 - Registry model: [Piper PA-32-301](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-32-301) (registry code 7103207) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming IO-540 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-io-540-series) (registry code 41530, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 32-8406002 - Airframe hours: 5637 - Engines: LYCOMING IO-540-K1G5 300 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Positioning, Part 91 - Registered owner: Peninsula Airways, Inc. - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: 100 hour, October 4, 1993, 65 hours before - Departed: AKN, KING SALMON, AK - Flight plan: Company VFR ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 32; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; seat: left; toxicology performed; flight hours: 8,100 total, 4,300 in this make and model, 8,100 as pilot in command, 232 in the last 90 days, 115 in the last 30 days, 6 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 90° at 15 knots - Visibility: 30 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 39 °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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 19931020040159A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19931020040159A), Oct 20, 1993: Piper PA32301, Karluk, AK, Substantial damage. Right wing struck unknown object during landing attempt on a beach. Made go around and returned to base. From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.