Piper PA-18 accident near Quinhagak, AK
On June 7, 2008, a Piper PA-18 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Quinhagak, AK. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- June 7, 2008
- Place
- Quinhagak, AK
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-18 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 59.468°N, 161.785°W
- NTSB ID
- 20080611X00838
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On June 6, 2008, about 1910 Alaska daylight time, a tundra tire-equipped Piper PA-18 airplane, N897SP, was destroyed by impact and a postimpact fire when it collided with a gravel and mud-covered tidal beach, about 17 miles south of Quinhagak, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) personal flight under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91, when the accident occurred. The solo commercial pilot died at the scene. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. At the time of the accident, the airplane was one of two airplanes flying from Iliamna, Alaska to Nome, Alaska, with an en route fuel stop in Dillingham, Alaska. According to personnel at the Dillingham Flight Service Station, both airplanes departed Dillingham about 1618. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) on June 10, an Alaska State Trooper reported that while conducting an aerial search for a missing person near Quinhagak, he noticed a large plume of black smoke rising from an area south of Quinhagak. The trooper said that as he flew towards the source of the smoke plume he realized that it was coming from the burning wreckage of an airplane on the beach. He added that there was a second Piper Super Cub parked on the beach, adjacent to the burning wreckage, and he could see one person walking from the burning wreckage to the parked Super Cub. The State Trooper said that he was unable to land at the accident site due to high winds, but he was ev
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed while maneuvering at a low altitude in high winds, resulting in an aerodynamic stall and uncontrolled descent to the ground. Contributing to the accident were the high winds.
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Browse: Alaska · Piper aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
