Piper PA-18-150 accident near Skwentna, AK
On August 9, 2023, a Piper PA-18-150 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Skwentna, AK. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- August 9, 2023
- Place
- Skwentna, AK
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-18-150 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 62.462°N, 152.359°W
- NTSB ID
- 20230810192841
Official records · ANC23FA061
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
On August 9, 2023, about 1215 Alaska daylight time, a Piper PA-18-150 airplane, N4481Z, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident about 60 miles northwest of Skwentna, Alaska. The pilot and passenger sustained fatal injuries. The airplane was being operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 on-demand charter flight. The airplane was operated by Willow Creek Aviation, LLC, in support of a remote sheep hunting excursion. The passenger and a friend chartered Willow Creek Aviation, LLC, to transport them and their hunting gear to the Dillinger River area. On August 6, 2023, the pilot and the two hunters departed from the Big Lake Airport (PAGQ), Big Lake, Alaska, and conducted a scouting trip in the pilot’s Cessna 206 airplane to check out the Dillinger River area for a possible hunting location and a suitable landing area for the pilot’s PA-18 airplane. The passengers were planning for an 8-to-10-day hunting trip. On the morning of the accident, about 0830, the pilot and the two hunters departed PAGQ in Willow Creek Aviation’s Cessna 206 airplane and they landed at a remote airstrip in an area referred to as Donkey Creek. The hunters and hunting gear were offloaded and the pilot returned to PAGQ to pick up his PA-18, the accident airplane. The pilot returned to Donkey Creek in the PA-18 and loaded one hunter and his gear for the flight to the hunting location near the Dillinger River (see Figure 1). The pilot informed the other hunter he was expected to return in about 2 hours to pick him up and transport him to the planned hunting location. Figure 1.
Probable cause
An impact with terrain for reasons that could not be determined because the airplane was not recovered due to the inaccessible nature of the accident site.
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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.
