Piper PA-32R-300 accident near Bettles, Alaska, September 3, 1999
On September 3, 1999 at about 7:30 pm local time, a Piper PA-32R-300, registered N9166K, was destroyed in an accident near Bettles, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's continued flight into known adverse weather conditions. Factors in the accident were low ceilings and snow.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 3, 1999 · about 7:30 pm local time
- Place
- Bettles, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32R-300 · all PA-32R-300s on the register
- Registration
- N9166K · no longer on the register · serial 32R7680194
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
After receiving a full weather briefing, the commercial certificated pilot departed on a VFR scheduled domestic flight with U.S. mail as the cargo. The intended route was over mountainous terrain. When the pilot opened his flight plan, the flight station specialist advised the pilot of AIRMETs for mountain obscuration and icing. After dropping mail at an intermediate stop, the pilot advised he was inbound to a planned refueling stop. The airplane did not arrive, and an ELT signal was reported 22 miles north of the refueling destination. The accident site was located the following day in a direct line between the intermediate stop and the refueling destination. The airplane collided at high speed with a mountain side at 4,500 feet msl of a 4,720 foot mountain. An area forecast included occasional ceilings below 1,000 feet, with visibility below 3 statute miles in light rain and mist. AIRMETs were issued for mountain obscuration, with mountains occasionally obscured in clouds and in precipitation. AIRMETs were issued for icing with occasional moderate rime icing in clouds and in precipitation from 6,000 to 18,000 feet. Search personnel reported that the mountain tops in the area of the ELT were obscured by fog and snow showers. The accident site was covered by about 4 inches of snow.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,637 hours in all; 956 in this make and model; 28 in the last 90 days; 13 in the last 30 days; 2,290 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,531 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 2, 1999; 91 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-K1G5D (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Servant Air INC.
The flight
- Departed from: PAKP Anaktuvuk Pass AK at 1:45 pm
- Destination: PABT
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 354° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 2,500 ft; scat at 300 ft
- Temperature: 50°F (10°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:50 pm from PAB, 22 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.