# Accident 20020526012789A: Piper PA18150, Mcgrath, AK, May 26, 2002

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 26, 2002, 18:15 local time
- Place: Mcgrath, AK
- Damage: No damage
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 63.4696° N, 162.1102° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=63.4696&lon=-162.1102&mi=10
- Aircraft: N4347Z, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N4347Z-2007-01-24) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-18-150 (registry code 7101828, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-18-150) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-320 series (registry code 41508, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA18150
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ANC02FA038](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC02FA038) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020526012789A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(-23) ON MAY 26, 2002, ABOUT 1815 ADT, A TUNDRA TIRE EQUIPPED PIPER PA-18 AIRPLANE WAS DESTROYED DURING A FIRE THAT ENSUED AFTER A COLLISION WITH TREE-COVERED TERRAIN. THE AIRCRAFT, N4347Z, HAD JUST DEPARTED A 1250 FOOT GRAVEL STRIP NEAR THE HEADWATERS OF THE BIG RIVER, APPROXIMATELY 70 MILES SOUTHEAST OF MCGRATH. THE AIRPLANE WAS OPERATED AS A VFR PART 91 FLIGHT AND VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME. THE PILOT AND ONE PASSENGER WERE FATALLY INJURED AS A RESULT OF THE FIRE. WITNESSES AT THE SCENE STATED THAT AT THE TIME OF DEPARTURE, A THUNDERSTORM WAS APPROXIMATELY 1 MILE NORTHEAST OF THE AIRSTRIP WITH GUSTY WINDS AND HEAVY RAIN. THE WITNESSES WATCHED THE AIRCRAFT BEGIN THE DEPARTURE ROLL BUT DUE TO A STAND OF TREES, THEY DID NOT SEE THE AIRCRAFT LIFT-OFF. APPROXIMATELY 5 MINUTES LATER, THEY OBSERVED SMOKE APPROXIMATELY 1300 BEYOND THE DEPARTURE END OF THE STRIP. DUE TO THE THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY IN THE AREA, THERE WAS A HIGH PROBABILITY OF WINDSHEAR AT THE DEPARTURE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT AIRCRAFT.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB ANC02FA038](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC02FA038), May 27, 2002: Piper PA-18 (N4347Z), Lime Village, AK, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's inadequate evaluation of weather and his inability to maintain aircraft control. A contributing factor was high winds due to thunderstorm outflow activity.

## Other reports on N4347Z (1)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Accident 19800318006709A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19800318006709A), Mar 18, 1980: Piper PA18 (N4347Z), Chignik Lake, AK, Substantial damage. Engine quit due to carburetor ice while flying a 100-foot AGL. Landed downwind in soft snow. Nosed over.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.