Piper PA-32-301 accident near Scammon Bay, Alaska, December 4, 1992
On December 4, 1992 at about 7:40 pm local time, a Piper PA-32-301, registered N8374T, was substantially damaged in an accident near Scammon Bay, Alaska (Scammon Bay airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 7 people were on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE PILOTS VFR FLIGHT INTO IMC CONDITIONS, AND HIS FAILURE TO MAINTAIN SUFFICIENT ALTITUDE WHILE MANEUVERING. CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WERE THE WHITEOUT SNOW AND FOG CONDITIONS.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 4, 1992 · about 7:40 pm local time
- Place
- Scammon Bay, Alaska · Scammon Bay · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 7 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32-301 · all PA-32-301s on the register
- Registration
- N8374T · registry record · serial 32-8106058
- 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 MANEUVERING IN PREPARATION FOR LANDING, THE PILOT ENCOUNTERED WHITEOUT SNOW AND FOG CONDITIONS, AND ALLOWED THE AIRPLANE TO DESCEND AND STRIKE THE SNOW COVERED GROUND. THE AIRPLANE REMAINED AIRBORNE AND RETURNED AND LANDED AT ITS POINT OF DEPARTURE WITHOUT ANY ADDITIONAL SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE.
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, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,504 hours in all; 286 in this make and model; 265 in the last 90 days; 98 in the last 30 days; 2,412 as pilot in command; 308 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,936 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, September 18, 1992; 67 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-K1G5 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: ENM Emmonak AK at 6:22 pm
- Runway 1, 2,550 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 360° at 15 knots
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: -15°F (-26°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 6 |
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 N8374T 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.