Piper PA-22-160 accident near Sterling, Alaska, October 3, 1997
On October 3, 1997 at about 11:00 pm local time, a Piper PA-22-160, registered N8955D, was destroyed in an accident near Sterling, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Undetermined.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 3, 1997 · about 11:00 pm local time
- Place
- Sterling, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-22-160 · all PA-22-160s on the register
- Registration
- N8955D · no longer on the register · serial 22-6118
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot maintained a residence on a small island in a remote lake where he kept a float equipped airplane. Neighbors observed the pilot repairing a hole in one of the airplane's floats. The neighbors heard an airplane engine start up about 1500. The airplane was not observed. About 1720, an airplane over-flying the lake, observed the accident airplane partially submerged. It was floating upside down, about 1/2 mile from the pilot's residence. Search personnel were dispatched to the airplane and upon arrival, joined several of the pilot's neighbors at the partially submerged airplane. Rescue divers were unable to determine if the airplane was occupied before it sank in 139 feet of water. The pilot is missing and presumed to be fatally injured.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 1,600 hours in all
- Medical certificate: None (expired)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 2,000 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-B2A (piston); 0 hours total
- Not recorded
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 207° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,700 ft
- Temperature: 48°F (9°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:55 pm from PAS, 19 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.
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.