Piper PA-32-300 accident near Port Lions, Alaska, January 15, 1989
On January 15, 1989 at about 7:48 pm local time, a Piper PA-32-300, registered N43527, was substantially damaged in an accident near Port Lions, Alaska (Port Lions airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE PILOTS INADEQUATE COMPENSATION FOR WIND CONDITIONS WHICH RESULTED IN A STALL/MUSH AND SUBSEQUENT HARD LANDING. THE DOWNDRAFT WHICH THE AIRCRAFT ENCOUNTERED WAS A FACTOR IN THE ACCIDENT.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 15, 1989 · about 7:48 pm local time
- Place
- Port Lions, Alaska · Port Lions · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32-300 · all PA-32-300s on the register
- Registration
- N43527 · registry record · serial 32-7440131
- 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 AIR-TAXI PILOT REPORTED THAT WHEN HE WAS ABOUT 15 FEET OVER THE RUNWAY THRESHOLD, THE AIRPLANE BEGAN SINKING RAPIDLY. HE ADDED POWER AND AFT ELEVATOR CONTROL, BUT THE AIRPLANE STILL LANDED HARD, CAUSING THE AFT END OF THE FUSELAGE TO STRIKE 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: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 6,457 hours in all; 498 in this make and model; 161 in the last 90 days; 63 in the last 30 days; 6,315 as pilot in command; 784 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,871 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, December 2, 1988; 91 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-K1A5 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: ADQ Kodiak AK at 7:37 pm
- Runway 24, 2,600 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 300° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,400 ft
- Temperature: 27°F (-3°C), dew point 10°F (-12°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
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 N43527 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.