Piper PA-30 accident near Kodiak, Alaska, August 5, 1985
On August 5, 1985 at about 7:00 pm local time, a Piper PA-30, registered N7811Y, was destroyed in an accident near Kodiak, Alaska (Kodiak airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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
- August 5, 1985 · about 7:00 pm local time
- Place
- Kodiak, Alaska · Kodiak · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-30 · all PA-30s on the register
- Registration
- N7811Y · no longer on the register · serial 30-890
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING A WX BRIEFING AT 0719 ADT, THE PLT WAS ADVISED THAT VFR FLT WAS NOT RECOMMENDED. LATER, AT 0827. HE CALLED THE FSS TO UPDATE HIS WX & FILED AN IFR CLEARANCE. AT 0938, THE ACFT DEPARTED ANCHORAGE. DURING ARRIVAL AT KODIAK, THE ACFT WAS CLEARED FOR AN ILS/DME-ONE APCH TO RWY 25. AT 1056, THE PLT REPORTED HE WAS 8.5 DME MI NORTH OF KODIAK & LEVEL AT 1600 FT. SHORTLY AFTER THAT, RADIO CONTACT WAS LOST & THE ELT SOUNDED. LATER, THE ACFT WAS FOUND WHERE IT COLLIDED WITH A MOUNTAIN SIDE AT AN ELEVATION OF 1450 FT. THE CRASH SITE WAS LOCATED APRX 5 MI NORTH OF THE ARPT, OUTSIDE OF AN AREA WHERE THE INSTRUMENT APCH WOULD HAVE TAKEN THE ACFT. THE 1057 WX OBSERVATION AT THE ARPT WAS IN PART: 1000 FT SCATTERED, 3500 FT OVERCAST, VISIBILITY 10 MI. THE ARPT ELEV WAS 73 FT MSL. THE WX IN THE MOUNTAINS WHERE THE PLANE CRASHED WAS NOT VERIFIED. THIS WAS THE PLT'S 1ST APCH TO THIS ARPT. RADAR SVC WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE PLT'S LOG BOOK WAS NOT FOUND. REPORTEDLY, HE HAD NOT FLOWN MANY RECENT APCHS & WAS USE TO HAVING RADAR ASSISTANCE.
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: private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 6,000 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,051 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 1, 1984; 199 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-320-B1A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: ANC Anchorage AK at 12:38 pm
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 25, 7,548 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 030° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 54°F (12°C), dew point 50°F (10°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:57 pm from ADQ, 5 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
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.