Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Emmonak, Alaska 99581
Saturday, April 14, 2001 11:30 AKD

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

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.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

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

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/14/2001
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1130
Event Time Zone --
Event City Emmonak
Event State ALASKA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 99581
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 624711N
Event Location Longitude 1642946W
Event Location Airport --
Event Location Nearest Airport ID --
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Unknown
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions --
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling --
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) --
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 11398
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Apr 14 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1200
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Feb 20 2002 1:46PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Anchorage FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4375B
NTSB Number ANC01LA056
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed Company VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-32R-301
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 32R-8413023
Certified Max Gross Weight 3600
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 6
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Mar 23 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 19.7
Airframe Hours 11482.3
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Larry's Flying Service
Aircraft Owner Street Address P.O.Box 72348
Aircraft Owner City Fairbanks
Aircraft Owner State AK
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 99707
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code FWRA
Owner has at least one certificate --
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Positioning
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code KSM
Departure City Saint Mary's
Departure State AK
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1049
Departure Time Zone ADT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code ENM
Destination City Emmonak
Destination State AK
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jan 29 2002 5:33PM
User who most recently changed record STAM
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --