Piper PA-16 accident near Iliamna, Alaska, March 13, 1997
On March 13, 1997 at about 5:00 pm local time, a Piper PA-16, registered N5326H, was substantially damaged in an accident near Iliamna, Alaska. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
failure of the pilot to maintain adequate airspeed during the flare, which resulted in a hard landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made September 29, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 13, 1997 · about 5:00 pm local time
- Place
- Iliamna, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-16 · all PA-16s on the register
- Registration
- N5326H · registry record · serial 16-131
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported he was attempting to land his wheel equipped airplane on a remote, frozen lake. He said he slowed the airplane to 2 or 3 miles per hour over the stall speed during the final approach. During the landing flare, soon after crossing the edge of the lake, the airplane stalled and landed hard on the lake, resulting in substantial damage to the airframe.
The NTSB's narratives can run to many pages; this is the opening. Read the full report at the NTSB.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database and is rewritten in plain English only where the NTSB used codes; the probable cause and narrative are the NTSB's own words. This site 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 ANC97LA034.