Piper PA-32-260 accident near Skwentna, Alaska, May 18, 1988
On May 18, 1988 at about 5:40 pm local time, a Piper PA-32-260, registered N897P, was destroyed in an accident near Skwentna, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 3 people were killed. 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 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 18, 1988 · about 5:40 pm local time
- Place
- Skwentna, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 3 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32-260 · all PA-32-260s on the register
- Registration
- N897P · registry record · serial 32301
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ON-DEMAND AIR TAXI FLIGHT WITH THE PILOT AND TWO PASSENGERS STRUCK THE ROCK FACE OF A MOUNTAIN AT THE 8600 FOOT LEVEL. ACCORDING TO WITNESSES AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT THE WEATHER CONDITIONS WERE POOR AND VISIBILITY WAS LESS THAN ONE-HALF MILE. THE AIRCRAFT WAS ON A COMPANY VFR FLIGHT PLAN AND NO WEATHER BRIEFING WAS OBTAINED EITHER BY TELEPHONE OR RADIO IN FLIGHT. THE OPERATOR DID NOT FILE AN ACC REPORT.
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; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,120 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,294 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, May 2, 1988; 100 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-540-E4B5 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MRI Anchorage AK at 12:00 pm
- Destination: MLG Mcgrath AK
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 46°F (8°C), dew point 34°F (1°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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ANC88FA059.