Piper PA-28R-201 incident near Mcgrath, Alaska, April 19, 1983
On April 19, 1983 at about 6:05 pm local time, a Piper PA-28R-201, registered N38565, suffered minor damage in an incident near Mcgrath, Alaska (Lime Village airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind 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).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this incident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 19, 1983 · about 6:05 pm local time
- Place
- Mcgrath, Alaska · Lime Village · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28R-201 · all PA-28R-201s on the register
- Registration
- N38565 · registry record · serial 28R-7737098
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AFTER 3 ATTEMPTS TO TAKEOFF FROM A MUDDY AIRSTRIP AND FAILING, THE PILOT OFF-LOADED ONE PASSENGER AND SOME BAGGAGE. ON THE FOURTH TAKEOFF ATTEMPT THE AIRCRAFT GOT AIRBORNE BUT SETTLED BACK TO A SNOW COVERED FROZEN RIVER. THE SNOW SLOWED THE AIRCRAFT AND THE PILOT REDUCED POWER WHILE TRYING TO MAKE A SMALL RIGHT TURN TO AVOID TREES AND THE LEFT MAIN GEAR COLLAPSED.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,222 hours in all; 18 in this make and model; 239 in the last 90 days; 974 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,619 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, March 10, 1983; 47 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,750 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-CIC6 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Destination: MCG Mcgrath AK
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 9, 1,500 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; scat at 5,000 ft
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ANC83IA072.