Grumman G-21A incident near Akutan, Alaska, January 7, 1993
On January 7, 1993 at about 7:30 pm local time, a Grumman G-21A, registered N22932, suffered minor damage in an incident near Akutan, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 8 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE INCIDENT WAS CAUSED BY THE PILOTS IMPROPER COMPENSATION FOR THE WINDS. FACTORS WERE THE MICROBURST, THE ROUGH WATER, AND THE PILOT'S INADEQUATE EVALUATION OF THE WEATHER CONDITIONS.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 7, 1993 · about 7:30 pm local time
- Place
- Akutan, Alaska · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 8 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Grumman G-21A · all G-21As on the register
- Registration
- N22932 · registry record · serial B-139
- Damage
- Minor 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 JUST AFTER TOUCHING DOWN ON THE WATER, HE ENCOUNTERED A MICROBURST. HE ESTIMATED THAT THE WIND SPEED SUDDENLY CHANGED FROM ABOUT 15 TO 20 KNOTS TO 40 TO 50 KNOTS. THE LEFT WING FLOAT HIT THE WATER AND WAS TORN OFF. BECAUSE OF THE STRONG WINDS AND ROUGH WATER HE WAS UNABLE TO GET AIRBORNE OR TO TURN THE AIRPLANE. HE KEPT THE AIRPLANE HEADED INTO THE WIND AND BEACHED THE AIRPLANE ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE BAY. THE PILOT ALSO SAID THAT SUITABLE WEATHER CONDITIONS HAD BEEN REPORTED FOR THE LANDING AREA ABOUT ONE HALF HOUR EARLIER.
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: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 7,076 hours in all; 235 in this make and model; 131 in the last 90 days; 44 in the last 30 days; 6,953 as pilot in command; 356 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 12,054 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, January 7, 1993; 1 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 8,920 lb
- Seats: 9
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W R-985 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Peninsula Airways, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: DUT Unalaska AK at 7:10 pm
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 120° at 15 knots, gusting 30
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 800 ft; not recorded at 800 ft
- Temperature: 36°F (2°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 7 |
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 N22932 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ANC93IA026.