Piper PA-32 accident near Kasigluk, Alaska, March 9, 1989
On March 9, 1989 at about 7:30 pm local time, a Piper PA-32, registered N4257T, was substantially damaged in an accident near Kasigluk, Alaska (Kasigluk airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE PILOT'S INADEQUATE VISUAL LOOKOUT WHICH RESULTED IN THE COLLISION WITH A SNOWBANK.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 9, 1989 · about 7:30 pm local time
- Place
- Kasigluk, Alaska · Kasigluk · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32 · all PA-32s on the register
- Registration
- N4257T · no longer on the register · serial 32720035
- 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 HAD JUST LANDED AND WAS BACK TAXIING WHEN THE AIRPLANE STRUCK A SNOWBANK NEXT TO 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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,229 hours in all; 304 in this make and model; 246 in the last 90 days; 105 in the last 30 days; 1,156 as pilot in command; 513 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,051 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, March 5, 1989; 3 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-K1A5 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BET Bethel AK at 7:12 pm
- Runway 17, 2,400 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 160° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 7,000 ft; scat at 1,500 ft
- Temperature: 32°F (0°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 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.
Other NTSB records under N4257T 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.