Piper PA-32 accident near Bethel, Alaska, May 3, 1985
On May 3, 1985 at about 8:30 pm local time, a Piper PA-32, registered N4246T, was substantially damaged in an accident near Bethel, Alaska (Bethel Seaplane 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).
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
- May 3, 1985 · about 8:30 pm local time
- Place
- Bethel, Alaska · Bethel Seaplane · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32 · all PA-32s on the register
- Registration
- N4246T · no longer on the register · serial 327240043
- 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 PILOT REPORTED THAT DURING THE TAKEOFF ROLL THE AIRCRAFT COULD NOT OBTAIN AIRSPEED AND THE AIRCRAFT LOST DIRECTIONAL CONTROL STRIKING A SNOW BANK AT THE DEPARTURE END OF THE RUNWAY.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 633 hours in all; 4 in this make and model; 265 in the last 90 days; 110 in the last 30 days; 440 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 136 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, November 10, 1984; 98 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 9, 3,000 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 270° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 40 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 2,000 ft; not recorded at 2,000 ft
- Temperature: 41°F (5°C), dew point 28°F (-2°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
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.
Other NTSB records under N4246T 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.