Piper PA-38-112 accident near Anchorage, Alaska, March 5, 1982
On March 5, 1982 at about 7:45 pm local time, a Piper PA-38-112, registered N25759, was substantially damaged in an accident near Anchorage, Alaska (Merrill Field). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 5, 1982 · about 7:45 pm local time
- Place
- Anchorage, Alaska · Merrill Field · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-38-112 · all PA-38-112s on the register
- Registration
- N25759 · registry record · serial 38-81A0071
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
STUDENT PILOT ROUNDED OUT TOO HIGH,AIRCRAFT BOUNCED AND BECAME AIRBORNE.THE STUDENT DID NOT APPLY POWER AND THE CFI ADDED POWER FOR A GO-AROUND.HOWEVER HE STATED HE WAITED TOO LONG BEFORE APPLYING POWER AND THE RIGHT WING STALLED. THE AIRCRAFT VEERED RIGHT OF RUNWAY HEADING AND TOUCHED DOWN ON A DIAGONAL TAXIWAY.THE CFI REDUCED POWER AND THE AIRCRAFT SLID ON THE ICE COVERED TAXIWAY COLLIDING WITH A SNOWBERM AND A PARKED UNATTENDED MAULE,N293X,WHICH RECEIVED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE.THE CFI REPORTED THAT THE AIRCRAFT'S BRAKES HAD NO EFFECT DUE TO THE ICE ON THE DIAGONAL TAXIWAY.
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: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 6,825 hours in all; 250 in this make and model; 140 in the last 90 days; 55 in the last 30 days; 6,520 as pilot in command; 5,500 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 680 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 78 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,670 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235L2A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MRI Anchorage AK
- Destination: MRI Anchorage AK
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 6, 4,000 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 030° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 40 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 6,500 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:46 pm from MRI
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.
Other NTSB records under N25759 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.