Piper PA-32-300 accident near Tyonek, Alaska, August 9, 1986
On August 9, 1986 at about 5:30 am local time, a Piper PA-32-300, registered N1491X, was substantially damaged in an accident near Tyonek, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 2 people 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
- August 9, 1986 · about 5:30 am local time
- Place
- Tyonek, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32-300 · all PA-32-300s on the register
- Registration
- N1491X · no longer on the register · serial 327540167
- 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 STATED THAT DURING THE INITIAL CLIMB, THE AIRCRAFT STARTED TO SETTLE. THE PILOT STALLED AND CRASHED INTO A WOODED AREA 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; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,590 hours in all; 166 in this make and model; 395 in the last 90 days; 2,369 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,904 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, July 27, 1986; 55 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540KIAS (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Destination: MRI Anchorage AK
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 33, 4,600 ft by 80 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 290° at 10 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 1,500 ft; clear
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
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.