# Accident 20150131000792A: Piper PA-18-150, Wasilla, AK, January 31, 2015

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 31, 2015, 13:05 local time
- Place: Wasilla, AK
- Damage: Destroyed
- Collision: Midair collision
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 61.5281° N, 149.6880° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=61.5281&lon=-149.6880&mi=10
- Aircraft: N82735, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N82735) (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 PA-18-150
- Reported engine: LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 1
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 545 total, 192 in this make and model, 6 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ANC15FA009](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC15FA009) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20150131000792A

## Narrative

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

AT ABOUT 1300 AKST N82735 DEPARTED WASILLA AIRPORT (PAWS) RUNWAY 22 AFTER ANNOUNCING "TAXI TO RUNWAY 22" AND "DEPARTING RUNWAY 22 AT WASILLA AIRPORT" ON 122.8 CTAF.  AIRCRAFT CLIMBED TO 1500' TO 2000' MSL BOUND FOR BELUGA (PABG) WITH CONTINUATION ON TO LAKE HOOD (PALH).  AT APPROXIMATELY 1305 N82735 IN CRUISE COLLIDED MIDAIR WITH N78NR NEAR SOUTH HOLLYWOOD AIRPORT (67AK).  PILOT DESCRIBED SUDDEN FLASH IN UPPER LEFT CORNER OF HIS WINDSCREEN AND BELIEVES THE OTHER AIRCRAFT BANKED TO THE LEFT AT LAST SECOND.  PILOT NOW IN UNCONTROLLED DIVE WITH NO ELEVATOR AUTHORITY.  PILOT PUSHED STICK FORWARD GAINING SOME CONTROL BUT WAS UNABLE TO RECOVER AS AIRCRAFT ENTERED TREES.  THE OUTBOARD PORTION OF N78NR'S RIGHT WING WAS RESTING BENEATH AND INTERTWINED WITH N82735'S LEFT WING.  N82735'S PROPELLER HAD CUT THE RIGHT WING STRUTS OF N78NR AS AIRCRAFT COLLIDED.

N82735 PILOT WAS WEARING HELMENT WITH A VISOR BUT THE SUN WAS IN HIS EYES.

ARTEX ME406 ELT DID ACTIVATE AND BROADCAST UNTIL SWITCHED OFF.  ELT AND ANTENNA REMAINED ATTACHED TO FUSELAGE

## Other aircraft in the event

- N78NR, Piper PA-18: [Accident 20150131000802A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20150131000802A)

## 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 ANC15FA009](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC15FA009), Jan 31, 2015: Piper PA 18 (N82735), Wasilla, AK, substantial damage. Probable cause: Both pilots’ inadequate visual lookout and failure to see and avoid each other while in level cruise flight, which resulted in a midair collision. Contributing to the accident was the obscuration of…

## Other reports on N82735 (3)

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

- [Accident 20220728021679A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20220728021679A), Jul 28, 2022: Piper PA-18-150 (N82735), Mccarthy, AK, Substantial damage. On July 28, 2022, at approximately 1200 AKDT, a single engine Piper model PA-18, registration number [privacy data omitted] sustained substantial damage during…
- [Accident 20020516012879A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020516012879A), May 16, 2002: Piper PA18150 (N82735), Holycross, AK, No damage. (-23) Public use aircraft landed on sandbar during criminal investigation mission. Struck willow tree with right wing tip. Wing tip bow and tail wheel attach…
- [Accident 19950409049509A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19950409049509A), Apr 9, 1995: Piper PA18150 (N82735), Glennallen, AK, Substantial damage. (-16) A Piper PA-18 on wheel skis, operated by the Alaska state troopers, landed on a dry gravel air strip with skis in the down position, and the aircraft…

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.

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