Piper PA-32 accident near Kwethluk, Alaska, August 14, 1988
On August 14, 1988 at about 9:30 pm local time, a Piper PA-32, registered N32062, was substantially damaged in an accident near Kwethluk, Alaska (Kwethluk 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 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 14, 1988 · about 9:30 pm local time
- Place
- Kwethluk, Alaska · Kwethluk · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 7 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32 · all PA-32s on the register
- Registration
- N32062 · no longer on the register · serial 327540011
- 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 LOST DIRECTIONAL CONTROL OF THE AIRCRAFT WHILE LANDING. AT THE TIME OF ACCIDENT THE WIND WAS FROM 180 DEGREES AT 15 KNOTS GUSTING 20 KNOTS. THE AIRPLANE LANDED ON RUNWAY 25; AFTER TOUCHDOWN THE AIRPLANE DEPARTED THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE RUNWAY INTO AN AIRPORT SIGN.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,600 hours in all; 2,200 in this make and model; 340 in the last 90 days; 150 in the last 30 days; 4,300 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,334 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 7, 1988; 58 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-K1A5 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Kusko Aviation
The flight
- Departed from: KWN Quinhagak AK
- Runway 25, 1,800 ft by 32 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 150° at 15 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 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 N32062 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.