Piper PA-32-300 accident near Kake, Alaska, June 11, 2007
On June 11, 2007 at about 11:30 pm local time, a Piper PA-32-300, registered N6117J, was destroyed in an accident near Kake, Alaska (Kake airport). It was flown under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
A fractured exhaust manifold, which resulted in an in-flight fire, and the inadequate inspection of the airplane by the operator's maintenance personnel.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 11, 2007 · about 11:30 pm local time
- Place
- Kake, Alaska · Kake · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32-300 · all PA-32-300s on the register
- Registration
- N6117J · no longer on the register · serial 32-7640095
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The commercial certificated pilot was conducting scheduled passenger flights. On the flight prior to the accident flight, the passengers complained of a smell the pilot thought might be exhaust. After landing, he examined the engine for exhaust leaks. Finding none, he proceeded with the return flight. While departing the airport he heard a loud bang, the passenger cabin started to fill with smoke, and he saw fire at his feet. He reduced the throttle, and landed on the airport runway. In his haste to depart the airplane, he did not turn the fuel off, and he left the electric fuel boost pump on. He said after exiting the airplane, he saw a large pool of fuel forming under the airplane, and smoke continued to emanate from the passenger cabin door. The pooled fuel ignited, burning the airplane. The passengers said they first noticed the smoke in the rear of the passenger cabin, and that the smoke propagated forward until they could no longer see the pilot. During the examination of the airplane, the NTSB investigator found that approximately a 4" X 6" piece of the right side exhaust manifold at the rear of the engine was missing. The edges of the manifold, where the piece was missing, had scalloped fractures and long straight tears consistent with fatigue fractures and failure. Additional fractures were found in other areas of the exhaust system. The hot exhaust gasses burned a hole in the heater shroud at the point where it attaches to the scat tubing which provides heated air to the vents in the rear of the passenger cabin. The hot exhaust gasses were deflected by the firewall onto the engine fuel line attached to the engine driven fuel pump mounted on the left rear of the engine, burning the fuel line through. The electric fuel boost pump provided pressurized fuel to the engine driven pump, which resulted in fuel continuing to flow and pooling on the ground. According to airplane records, the exhaust system had been inspected in accordance with the operator's approved inspection program, 2.9 flight hours prior the accident.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 800 hours in all; 180 in this make and model; 260 in the last 90 days; 100 in the last 30 days; 650 as pilot in command; 250 on instruments
- Last flight review: April 1, 2007
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,415 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, June 1, 2007; 2.9 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540 K1G5 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire in flight and on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: PAFF Kake AK
- Destination: PAJN Juneau AK
- Runway 28, 4,000 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 4,500 ft; clear
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Observation at 2:53 pm from KAFE
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.