Piper PA-32-300 accident near Togiak, Alaska, September 14, 1985
On September 14, 1985 at about 7:45 pm local time, a Piper PA-32-300, registered N8981N, was substantially damaged in an accident near Togiak, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 2 people were seriously injured. 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
- September 14, 1985 · about 7:45 pm local time
- Place
- Togiak, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were seriously injured.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32-300 · all PA-32-300s on the register
- Registration
- N8981N · no longer on the register · serial 32-40865
- 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
ACFT CRASHED ON MOUNTAINSIDE AFTER WX WORSENED. MARGINAL WX HAD BEEN FORECAST & PIREP ADVISED PLT THAT VFR FLT WAS NOT RECOMMENDED.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,500 hours in all; 250 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,450 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, September 10, 1985; 5 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-51A5 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Yute Air Alaska, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: TOG Togiak AK at 2:30 pm
- Destination: DLG Dillingham AK
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 020° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 500 ft; scat at 300 ft
- Temperature: 52°F (11°C), dew point 50°F (10°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:00 pm from DLG, 35 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.