Piper PA-32-301 accident near Almautlak, Alaska, March 16, 1990
On March 16, 1990 at about 6:35 pm local time, a Piper PA-32-301, registered N8290T, was destroyed in an accident near Almautlak, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE PILOT'S LOSS OF CONTROL OF THE AIRPLANE BECAUSE OF SPATIAL DISORIENTATION. THE WEATHER CONDITIONS PREVAILING AT THE TIME WERE FACTORS RELATING TO THE ACCIDENT.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 16, 1990 · about 6:35 pm local time
- Place
- Almautlak, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32-301 · all PA-32-301s on the register
- Registration
- N8290T · no longer on the register · serial 32-8106005
- 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 AIRPLANE CRASHED SHORTLY AFTER TRANSITIONING FROM VFR TO IFR CONDITIONS, AND RECEIVING AN IFR CLEARANCE TO THE FINAL APPROACH FIX FOR ILS/DME RUNWAY 18 AT BETHEL.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,802 hours in all; 1,014 in this make and model; 168 in the last 90 days; 56 in the last 30 days; 1,646 as pilot in command; 3 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,910 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 2, 1990; 142 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-K1G5 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Arctic Circle Air Service
The flight
- Departed from: Z09 Kasigluk AK at 5:25 pm
- Destination: BET Bethel AK
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 200° at 10 knots, gusting 15
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 30°F (-1°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
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.
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.