Piper PA-32 accident near Togiak, Alaska, August 22, 1992
On August 22, 1992 at about 10:13 pm local time, a Piper PA-32, registered N8402S, was substantially damaged in an accident near Togiak, Alaska (Togiak Fisheries airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE PILOT'S IMPROPER PREFLIGHT PLANNING/DECISION, AND HIS DELAY IN ABORTING THE TAKEOFF. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS WERE THE BERM AND THE STANDING WATER ON THE RUNWAY.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 22, 1992 · about 10:13 pm local time
- Place
- Togiak, Alaska · Togiak Fisheries · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32 · all PA-32s on the register
- Registration
- N8402S · registry record · serial 32-8106075
- 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 AFTER GETTING AIRBORNE THE AIRPLANE WOULD NOT CLIMB ANY HIGHER THAN ABOUT 2 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND WITHOUT THE STALL WARNING HORN SOUNDING. ABOUT 20 FEET PAST THE END OF THE RUNWAY THE AIRPLANE'S RIGHT MAIN LANDING GEAR HIT AND WAS SHEARED OFF BY A 3 FOOT HIGH TUNDRA BERM. THE PILOT THEN REDUCED POWER AND LANDED ON THE PARALLELING BEACH, DURING WHICH THE NOSE LANDING GEAR COLLAPSED. THE PILOT ALSO SAID THAT THE AIRPLANE WAS DELAYED IN GETTING AIRBORNE BY THE STANDING WATER AND MUD PUDDLES ON 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; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: helicopter; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 6,557 hours in all; 3,079 in this make and model; 412 in the last 90 days; 138 in the last 30 days; 6,301 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 13,610 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 5, 1992; 77 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming TIO-540 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Peninsula Airways, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: TFI at 5:13 pm
- Destination: DLG Dillingham AK
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 12, 1,200 ft by 30 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 120° at 20 knots, gusting 28
- Visibility: 4 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,200 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 52°F (11°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 4 |
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 N8402S 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.