Maule M-5-235C accident near Redoubt Bay, Alaska, September 16, 1986
On September 16, 1986 at about 9:35 pm local time, a Maule M-5-235C, registered N77LM, was substantially damaged in an accident near Redoubt Bay, Alaska. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. 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 November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 16, 1986 · about 9:35 pm local time · cases in 1986
- Place
- Redoubt Bay, Alaska
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Maule M-5-235C · all M-5-235Cs on the register
- Registration
- N77LM · registry record · serial 7078C
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE NON-INSTRUMENT RATED PVT PLT BECAME CAUGHT ON TOP OF A CLOUD LAYER DURING FLT AND WAS GIVEN ATC ASSITANCE. AFTER GETTING BELOW THE CLOUDS THE PLT ENCOUNTERED FOG COVERED LAND AND WATER. THE PLT LANDED THE FLOATPLANE IN SHALLOW WATER IN AN INLET. THE FLOATS HIT A SAND BAR CAUSING THE ACFT TO NOSE OVER.
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: single-engine land; single-engine sea
- Flight time: 411 hours in all; 149 in this make and model; 34 in the last 90 days; 361 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (expired)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 382 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 14, 1986; 17 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-540 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Afognak Island AK at 2:15 pm
- Destination: Kenai AK
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds; not recorded at 500 ft
- Temperature: 54°F (12°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:55 pm from ENA, 25 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.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N77LM on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Maule M-5 364 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Maule 1,345 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Lycoming O-540 5,245 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Accidents and incidents in Alaska 5,932 since 1982 · 826 in the last ten years
- Alaska 9,146 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/ANC86LA157.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.