Piper PA-32-300 accident near Naknek, Alaska, July 16, 1991
On July 16, 1991 at about 7:15 pm local time, a Piper PA-32-300, registered N2120M, was substantially damaged in an accident near Naknek, Alaska (Naknek airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 6 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE PILOT MISJUDGED THE PROPER TOUCHDOWN. CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WAS THE GUST OF WIND ON FINAL APPROACH.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 16, 1991 · about 7:15 pm local time · cases in 1991
- Place
- Naknek, Alaska · Naknek · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 6 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32-300 · all PA-32-300s on the register
- Registration
- N2120M · registry record · serial 327840039
- 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 THE AIRPLANE LANDED APPROXIMATELY 20 FEET SHORT OF THE RUNWAY. JUST BEFORE COMING TO A STOP, THE AIRPLANE NOSED OVER ON ITS BACK. AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT, THE WIND WAS 180 DEGREES AT 20 KNOTS.
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: single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,500 hours in all; 2,000 in this make and model; 170 in the last 90 days; 100 in the last 30 days; 4,280 as pilot in command; 200 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 30,000 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, June 28, 1991; 85 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-K165 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Peninsula Airways, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: EGX Egegik AK at 1:55 pm
- Runway 15, 2,500 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 20 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 1,500 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 50°F (10°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 5 |
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 N2120M the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N2120M on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Piper PA-32 Cherokee Six, Lance and Saratoga 3,916 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Piper 44,838 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-K165 4,222 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Accidents and incidents in Alaska 5,932 since 1982 · 826 in the last ten years
- Alaska 9,143 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N2120M 1 records · the number may have belonged to another aircraft at the time
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/ANC91LA100.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.