Piper PA-32R-301 accident near Wainwright, Alaska, January 10, 1983
On January 10, 1983 at about 8:10 pm local time, a Piper PA-32R-301, registered N3575A, was substantially damaged in an accident near Wainwright, Alaska (Wainwright airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 6 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
- January 10, 1983 · about 8:10 pm local time
- Place
- Wainwright, Alaska · Wainwright · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 6 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32R-301 · all PA-32R-301s on the register
- Registration
- N3575A · registry record · serial 32R-8013034
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE AIRCRAFT RAN OFF THE DEPARTURE END OF THE RUNWAY DURING LANDING. A PASSENGER STATED THAT THE AIRCRAFT TOUCHED DOWN AT ABOUT MID-FIELD AT A HIGHER THAN NORMAL AIRSPEED AND BOUNCED ONCE BEFORE SLIDING OFF THE END OF THE RUNWAY. THE GRAVEL RUNWAY WAS COVERED WITH ICE. THE LANDING WAS MADE AT NIGHT AND THE PILOT STATED THE RUNWAY LIGHTS WERE INTERMITTENT. THE WINDS WERE LIGHT AND VARIABLE. THE PILOT ALSO SAID HE WAS TIRED AND HAD ASKED FOR A DAY OFF FROM THE SEVEN DAY SCHEDULE BUT WAS REFUSED. HE SAID HE KNEW SOMETHING WAS GOING TO HAPPEN. ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, ALL THREE LANDING GEAR COLLAPSED OR WERE BENT.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,608 hours in all; 500 in this make and model; 332 in the last 90 days; 100 in the last 30 days; 2,700 as pilot in command; 400 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 850 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, December 23, 1983; 43 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-K1G5D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BRW Barrow AK at 3:40 pm
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 3, 2,200 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: at 3 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 19°F (-7°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 5 |
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 N3575A 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.