Piper PA-32 accident near Gustavus, Alaska, August 15, 1991
On August 15, 1991 at about 3:00 am local time, a Piper PA-32, registered N4075W, was destroyed in an accident near Gustavus, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 6 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
VFR FLIGHT BY THE PILOT INTO INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS (IMC), AND THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN SUFFICIENT ALTITUDE AND/OR CLEARANCE FROM MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: THE ADVERSE WEATHER AND TERRAIN CONDITIONS.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 15, 1991 · about 3:00 am local time
- Place
- Gustavus, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 6 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32 · all PA-32s on the register
- Registration
- N4075W · no longer on the register · serial 32-40115
- 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 DEPARTING THE GUSTAVUS ARPT, THE PLT TURNED THE ACFT TOWARD EXCURSION INLET & AIR-FILED A VFR FLT PLAN. AFTER THE FLT PLAN WAS FILED, THERE WERE NO FURTHER RADIO TRANSMISSIONS FROM THE ACFT. A SEARCH WAS INITIATED, BUT HVY FOG, CLOUDS & DARKNESS HAMPERED THE SEARCH. WRECKAGE WAS FOUND THE NEXT MORNING, WHERE THE ACFT HAD CRASHED ON STEEP RISING TERRAIN IN A BOX CANYON AREA. IMPACT OCCURRED AT THE END OF A VALLEY THAT BEGAN NEAR EXCURSION INLET. ELEVATION OF THE CRASH SITE WAS APRX 4000 FT, TERRAIN IN THAT AREA ROSE TO ABOUT 4600 FT. TWO OTHER PILOTS THAT DEPARTED HAINES NEAR THE TIME OF THE ACDNT RPRTD THE CEILING WAS BROKEN TO OVERCAST AT ABOUT 4000 FT. RPRTDLY, THE MOUNTAIN TOPS WERE OBSCURED, BUT THE VISIBILITY BELOW THE CLOUDS WAS ABOUT 20 MI. THE PROP BLADES WERE FOUND WITH DEEP CHORDWISE SCARS & LEADING EDGE/ROTATIONAL DAMAGE.
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: 3,700 hours in all; 1,000 in this make and model; 81 in the last 90 days; 32 in the last 30 days; 3,500 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: GST Gustavus AK at 9:45 pm
- Destination: HNS Haines AK
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 230° at 5 knots
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 57°F (14°C)
- Observation at 6:40 pm from GST, 13 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 5 |
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.