Piper PA-32-300 accident near Tununak, Alaska, February 4, 1992
On February 4, 1992 at about 5:11 pm local time, a Piper PA-32-300, registered N76RL, was substantially damaged in an accident near Tununak, Alaska (Tununak airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
MISJUDGED WIND INFORMATION. FACTORS TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: TURBULENCE, CROSSWIND AND FLIGHT INTO KNOWN ADVERSE WEATHER.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 4, 1992 · about 5:11 pm local time
- Place
- Tununak, Alaska · Tununak · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32-300 · all PA-32-300s on the register
- Registration
- N76RL · no longer on the register · serial 32-7540024
- 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
WHILE ON FINAL APPROACH FOR LANDING, THE PILOT REPORTED THAT THE FLIGHT ENCOUNTERED TURBULENCE AND A STRONG CROSSWIND. THE PILOT CONTINUED THE APPROACH UNTIL THE FLIGHT WAS ON SHORT FINAL AND APPROXIMATELY 50 TO 80 FEET AGL WHEN THE AIRPLANE SUDDENLY BANKED APPROXIMATELY 60 DEGREES TO THE LEFT. THE PILOT TRIED TO CORRECT WITH FULL OPPOSITE CONTROLS AND FULL POWER; HOWEVER, THE LEFT WING STRUCK THE GROUND. THE PILOT REGAINED CONTROL OF THE AIRPLANE AND INITIATED A GO-AROUND. THE PILOT CONTINUED THE GO-AROUND AND LANDED WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT.
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; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 3,300 hours in all; 1,500 in this make and model; 185 in the last 90 days; 75 in the last 30 days; 3,200 as pilot in command; 900 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,273 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 25, 1991; 47 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-K1A5 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Camai Air
The flight
- Departed from: OOK Toksook AK at 5:00 pm
- Runway 26, 1,800 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 340° at 25 knots, gusting 30
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 1°F (-17°C), dew point 0°F (-18°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.
Other NTSB records under N76RL 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.