Piper PA-31-350 accident near Gambell, Alaska, June 29, 1993
On June 29, 1993 at about 6:25 pm local time, a Piper PA-31-350, registered N4112D, was involved in an accident near Gambell, Alaska (Gambell 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 visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
INTENTIONAL PERSONAL INJURY. FACTORS IN THE ACCIDENT WERE: THE PERSON'S PSYCHOLOGICAL CONDITION, AND THE LACK OF SUFFICIENT PROCEDURES/AIRPORT STAFF BY THE OPERATOR(S).
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 29, 1993 · about 6:25 pm local time · cases in 1993
- Place
- Gambell, Alaska · Gambell · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 7 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31-350 · all PA-31-350s on the register
- Registration
- N4112D · registry record · serial 8353004
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AT A REMOTE VILLAGE AIRSTRIP, A PASSENGER DEPLANED FROM ONE SCHEDULED COMMUTER AIRPLANE AND INTENTIONALLY WALKED INTO THE PROPELLER ARC OF ANOTHER COMMUTER AIRPLANE WITH RUNNING ENGINES. NEITHER OPERATOR, NOR THE VILLAGE, HAD AN EMPLOYEE ON SCENE AT THE TIME. DURING MEDICAL TREATMENT THE PATIENT SAID THAT SHE HAD ATTEMPTED SUICIDE BY WALKING INTO THE RUNNING PROPELLER.
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; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 11,981 hours in all; 6,024 in this make and model; 163 in the last 90 days; 68 in the last 30 days; 11,760 as pilot in command; 200 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 13,107 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, June 25, 1993; 14 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 7,250 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming TIO540J2BD (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Bering Air, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: GAM
- Destination: OME Nome AK
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 020° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 3,500 ft; scat at 400 ft
- Temperature: 41°F (5°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 N4112D the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N4112D on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Piper PA-31 Navajo and Chieftain 934 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Piper 44,840 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Lycoming TIO540J2BD 24 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Gambell Airport · nearest airport
- Nome Airport · bound for
- Accidents and incidents in Alaska 5,932 since 1982 · 825 in the last ten years
- Alaska 9,142 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N4112D 3 records · the number may have belonged to another aircraft at the time
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/ANC93LA105.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.