Grumman G-21 accident near Dutch Harbor, Alaska, April 15, 1998
On April 15, 1998 at about 7:45 pm local time, a Grumman G-21, registered N22932, was substantially damaged in an accident near Dutch Harbor, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 9 people were 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 identify the swells prior to landing. A factor was the water swells.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 15, 1998 · about 7:45 pm local time · cases in 1998
- Place
- Dutch Harbor, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 9 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Grumman G-21 · all G-21s on the register
- Registration
- N22932 · registry record · serial B-139
- 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 landed the seaplane in a protected bay in order to wait for the weather to improve at his destination. He said the wind and seas were calm; however, during landing, the seaplane encountered a swell. The seaplane porpoised, and the left horizontal stabilizer contacted the water.
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; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 7,136 hours in all; 83 in this make and model; 83 in the last 90 days; 53 in the last 30 days; 6,862 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection
- Maximum gross weight: 8,920 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W R-985 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Akutan AK at 2:20 pm
- Destination: DUT AK
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 2,500 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 34°F (1°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 8 |
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 N22932 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
- N22932 on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Grumman G-21 35 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Grumman 443 aircraft on the register
- Engine: P&W R-985 1,593 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Unalaska Airport · bound for
- Accidents and incidents in Alaska 5,932 since 1982 · 823 in the last ten years
- Alaska 9,143 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N22932 2 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/ANC98LA038.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.