# NTSB ANC96LA117: Piper PA-32-300, N4170R, Tuntutuliak, AK, August 3, 1996 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: August 3, 1996, 13:05 local (21:05 UTC) - Place: Tuntutuliak, AK - Coordinates: 60.409255, -162.650985 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=60.4093&lon=-162.6510&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Taxi](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/250) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Serious injuries - Injuries: 1 serious, 2 uninjured; on the ground: 1 serious - Status: Completed, report May 23, 1997 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - NTSB case key (mKey): 2874 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC96LA117 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/2874/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC96LA117 ## Probable cause The pilot's inadequate visual lookout. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - On ground/water collision with object, taxi - to takeoff - object - other person - visual lookout - inadequate, pilot in command (cause) ## Analysis The pilot reported he was beginning to taxi the airplane from the ramp area to the active runway. While still on the ramp, and partially through a left turn, the airplane's right wing struck a cargo handler, breaking one or more of her ribs. The pilot said he was looking to the left during the turn, and did not see the cargo handler until after the impact. ## Factual narrative On August 3, 1996, about 1305 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Piper PA-32-300 airplane, N4170R, struck a cargo handler while taxiing for takeoff at the Tuntutuliak airstrip, Tuntutuliak, Alaska. The cargo handler sustained serious injuries; the airline transport certificated pilot and the sole passenger aboard the airplane were not injured. The air taxi flight was being operated by Kusko Aviation in visual meteorological conditions. The airplane was not damaged in the mishap. During a telephone conversation with the NTSB investigator-in-charge on August 6, the chief pilot for Kusko Aviation related that the pilot of the accident airplane was just beginning to taxi for takeoff from the ramp area when the right wing struck a female cargo handler, breaking one or more of her ribs. The chief pilot said that at the time of the accident, the pilot did not believe that the cargo handler sustained more than a bruise from the impact. They learned two days later that she had broken ribs. The pilot of the accident airplane reported he was taxiing the airplane on the ramp, and was about one-half way through a left turn when the right wing struck the ramp worker. He said he was looking towards the left, and did not see the cargo handler until after the impact. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N4170R](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N4170R-1999-05-05), registration cancelled 1999-05-05, S/N 32-40502 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Piper PA-32-300 - Registry model: [Piper PA-32-300](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-32-300) (registry code 7103212) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 32-40502 - Airframe hours: 4400 - Engines: Lycoming IO-540 300 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: No damage - Flight: Part 135 - Registered owner: Kusko Aviation, Inc. - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: 100 hour, July 21, 1996, 25 hours before - Departed: AK61 - Destination: BET`, BETHEL, AK - Flight plan: Company VFR - Airport: AK61, Tuntutuliak ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 31; flight instructor, airline transport; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land, single-engine sea; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; seat: left; flight hours: 7,734 total, 1,700 in this make and model, 7,608 as pilot in command, 400 in the last 90 days, 135 in the last 30 days, 7 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 215° at 10 knots - Visibility: 20 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 55 °F ## 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 19960803021049A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19960803021049A), Aug 3, 1996: Piper PA32300, Tuntutuliak, AK. Struck a cargo handler while taxiing from ramp. Was looking left in left turn. Failed to look both ways. ## Other investigations on N4170R (1) 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. - [NTSB ANC97LA129](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC97LA129), Aug 24, 1997: Piper PA-32-300 (N4170R), Bethel, AK, substantial damage. Probable cause: the pilot's improper selection of a fuel tank that did not contain fuel, which resulted in subsequent fuel starvation and loss of engine power. A factor relating to the accident was: the inability to… 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.