Piper PA-32-300 accident near Kipnuk, Alaska, February 23, 1988
On February 23, 1988 at about 1:30 pm local time, a Piper PA-32-300, registered N8429N, was substantially damaged in an accident near Kipnuk, Alaska (Kipnuk airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 7 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 October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 23, 1988 · about 1:30 pm local time
- Place
- Kipnuk, Alaska · Kipnuk · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 7 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32-300 · all PA-32-300s on the register
- Registration
- N8429N · registry record · serial 328106089
- 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 CLIMBOUT FROM THE AIRPORT HE ENCOUNTERED A COMPLETE WHITEOUT CONDITION. THE PILOT THEN ELECTED TO LAND ON THE FROZEN LAKE AND DURING THE ROLLOUT THE AIRCRAFT STRUCK A SNOWBANK.
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: 2,563 hours in all; 569 in this make and model; 165 in the last 90 days; 110 in the last 30 days; 2,500 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,341 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, February 16, 1988; 18 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-K1G5 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Kipnuk Air, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: 8Z9 Kipnuk AK at 1:08 pm
- Destination: BET Bethel AK
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 360° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 39°F (4°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 6 |
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 N8429N 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.