Piper PA-32-300 accident near Atmautluak, Alaska, May 5, 1986
On May 5, 1986 at about 10:45 am local time, a Piper PA-32-300, registered N4246T, was substantially damaged in an accident near Atmautluak, Alaska (Atmautlauk airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person had minor injuries. 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 5, 1986 · about 10:45 am local time
- Place
- Atmautluak, Alaska · Atmautlauk · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32-300 · all PA-32-300s on the register
- Registration
- N4246T · no longer on the register · serial 32-7240043
- 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 AIR TAXI PILOT PLANNED SIX HOURS OF NIGHT FLYING WITH A FIVE MINUTE FUEL RESERVE AT HIS DESTINATION. WHEN HE SAW THAT HE WOULD BE UNABLE TO REACH THE DESTINATION, HE DIVERTED TOWARD ATMAUTLAUK. HOWEVER, THE ACFT RAN OUT OF FUEL AS THE PLT WAS MANEUVERING WITH HIS LANDING LIGHT ON TO FIND THE RWY. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE ACFT WAS DAMAGED DURING A FORCED LANDING AT NIGHT.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,300 hours in all; 800 in this make and model; 313 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Unknown (expired)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,003 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, April 11, 1986; 98 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-K1A5 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: AK10 Pilot Station AK
- Destination: BET Bethel AK
- Runway 0, 2,000 ft by 50 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 170° at 12 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility: 25 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 8,000 ft
- Temperature: 34°F (1°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.
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.