Piper PA-32R-300 accident near Atigun Pass, Alaska, August 4, 1993
On August 4, 1993 at about 10:38 pm local time, a Piper PA-32R-300, registered N477JC, was destroyed in an accident near Atigun Pass, Alaska. It was a positioning flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE PILOT-IN-COMMAND'S INTENTIONAL VFR FLIGHT INTO INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS AND HIS UNFAMILIARITY WITH THE GEOGRAPHICAL AREA. FACTORS WERE THE RAIN AND FOG.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 4, 1993 · about 10:38 pm local time
- Place
- Atigun Pass, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32R-300 · all PA-32R-300s on the register
- Registration
- N477JC · no longer on the register · serial 32R-7680469
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Positioning flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT-IN-COMMAND WAS UNFAMILIAR WITH THE PASS AND WAS ADVISED THAT THE WEATHER IN THE PASS WAS VERY POOR. HE STATED HE WOULD GO TAKE A LOOK. THE PASS MAKES AN 'S' TURN AT THE TOP IN LESS THAN 1 MILE OF DISTANCE. THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED THE SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN NEAR THE MIDDLE OF THE 'S' TURN. WEATHER REPORTED BY ANOTHER PILOT 15 TO 20 MINUTES EARLIER INDICATED THE PASS WAS CLOSED.
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: 1,217 hours in all; 142 in this make and model; 120 in the last 90 days; 85 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,819 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, July 22, 1993
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-K1G5D (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Yutana Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: GBH Galbraith Lake AK at 5:15 pm
- Destination: BTT Bettles AK
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 37°F (3°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.
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.