Piper PA-32 accident near Napakiak, Alaska, December 3, 1993
On December 3, 1993 at about 8:27 pm local time, a Piper PA-32, registered N38393, was substantially damaged in an accident near Napakiak, Alaska (Napakiak airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE PILOT-IN-COMMAND'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN PROPER APPROACH AIRSPEED.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 12, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 3, 1993 · about 8:27 pm local time · cases in 1993
- Place
- Napakiak, Alaska · Napakiak · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32 · all PA-32s on the register
- Registration
- N38393 · no longer on the register · serial 32-7840023
- 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 REPORTED THAT WHILE PERFORMING A 20 DEGREE LEFT BANKING TURN FROM BASE LEG TO THE FINAL APPROACH HEADING WITH FULL FLAPS THE STALL WARNING HORN CAME ON. WHILE IN THE TURN, THE PILOT RECALLED OBSERVING AN INDICATED AIRSPEED OF BETWEEN 50 AND 55 KNOTS AND THE PLANE'S ALTITUDE WAS FROM 50 TO 100 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND. THE PILOT SAID THAT HE APPLIED FULL POWER AND MAINTAINED A NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE IN AN ATTEMPT TO REGAIN AIRSPEED. THE AIRPLANE COLLIDED WITH THE SNOW COVERED TUNDRA APPROXIMATELY 300 FEET SHORT OF 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: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,920 hours in all; 955 in this make and model; 180 in the last 90 days; 60 in the last 30 days; 2,780 as pilot in command; 620 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 11,569 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, November 12, 1993; 65 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BET Bethel AK at 4:00 am
- Runway 34, 2,100 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 2,500 ft; scat at 600 ft
- Temperature: 10°F (-12°C), dew point 9°F (-13°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:36 pm from BET, 20 miles away
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.
Other NTSB records under N38393 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
- N38393: not on the register today · the record of its deregistration
- Piper PA-32 Cherokee Six, Lance and Saratoga 3,916 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Piper 44,848 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540 4,222 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Napakiak Airport · nearest airport
- Bethel Airport · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in Alaska 5,930 since 1982 · 824 in the last ten years
- Alaska 9,146 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N38393 1 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/ANC94LA021.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.