Piper PA-32-300 accident near Pedro Bay, Alaska, March 11, 1983
On March 11, 1983 at about 4:30 pm local time, a Piper PA-32-300, registered N8940N, was substantially damaged in an accident near Pedro Bay, Alaska. 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).
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 11, 1983 · about 4:30 pm local time
- Place
- Pedro Bay, Alaska · 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
- N8940N · no longer on the register · serial 32-40738
- 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 ACFT COLLIDED WITH TREES DURING AN ATTEMPTED GO-AROUND AFTER AN ABORTED LANDING ON A FROZEN LAKE. THE PILOT LANDED TOWARD THE VILLAGE AND FOUND THE BRAKING ACTION ON THE SNOW COVERED ICE WAS NON EXISTENT. A GO-AROUND WAS ATTEMPTED BUT NOT ENOUGH ALTITUDE WAS OBTAINED BEFORE REACHING THE SHORELINE AND THE TREES. THE LAKE ICE HAD BEEN SELECTED FOR LANDINGBECAUSE OF THE RWYS POOR CONDITION.
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; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,183 hours in all; 522 in this make and model; 150 in the last 90 days; 936 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,362 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection; 62 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MRI Anchorage AK at 3:00 pm
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 50 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; scat at 4,500 ft
- Temperature: 25°F (-4°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.
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.