Piper PA-32R-301 N4375B

Summary

On 14 April 2001 at about 19:30 local time, a Piper PA-32R-301 registered N4375B was involved in an accident near Emmonak, Alaska, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

14 April 2001 at 19:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Emmonak, Alaska, United States

Coordinates

62.7864, -164.4961

Aircraft

Piper PA-32R-301

Registration

N4375B

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Saint Mary's → Emmonak

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC01LA056

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadvertent stall while maneuvering. A factor associated with the accident was soft, snow-covered terrain.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

As the certificated commerical pilot was en route to his destination airport, he noticed a man standing beside a snow machine, waving his arms. He said that he descended to about 100 feet above the ground, and flew over the individual. The pilot stated that the man continued to wave his arms, leading the pilot to believe that the man needed help. The pilot said that he then climbed to 1,500 feet, called the Flight Service Station (FSS) , to advise them to send help. After being assured by the FSS specialist that help was on the way, he once again descended, and elected to drop a note to the man on the snow machine, to let him know help was on the way. The pilot wrote: "With gear down, and full flaps extended, I began approaching the man. At about 75 to 100 feet AGL, the aircraft began to stall. Recognizing the stall, I began to add full power, but the stall progressed to quickly, and subsequently caused the aircraft to touch down on a tributary of the Yukon River." He said that as the airplane touched down, the main wheels and right wing contacted deep snow, and the nose landing gear collapsed.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.