Piper PA-32 N8327S

Summary

On 1 April 2008 at about 23:40 local time, a Piper PA-32 registered N8327S, operated by Peninsula Airways Inc., was involved in an accident near Koliganek, Alaska, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

1 April 2008 at 23:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Koliganek, Alaska, United States

Coordinates

59.6167, -157.5117

Aircraft

Piper PA-32

Registration

N8327S

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Peninsula Airways Inc.

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Dillingham → Koliganek

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC08LA046

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's VFR flight into adverse weather conditions that resulted in a collision with snow-covered terrain during a turn to reverse direction. Factors contributing to the accident were low ceilings, flat lighting conditions, and the snow-covered terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he was in cruise flight about 700 feet agl over near featureless snow-covered terrain when he encounter lowering ceilings. He described the weather conditions as rapidly deteriorating. He began a turn to reverse direction, and the airplane collided with terrain. His destination, about 10 miles away, was reporting a visibility of 2 miles in mist, and a ceiling of 400 feet broken. The ceiling was variable between 200 to 900 feet. A low ceiling and snow-covered terrain likely produced flat lighting conditions, making visual reference to terrain, and determining height above the ground difficult.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.