# NTSB investigations: Piper PA-12: Loss of control in flight

NTSB aviation accident and incident investigations since 1962: the probable cause, findings, aircraft, crew, weather and docket of each, linked to the FAA registry and the FAA’s own reports.

## Latest cases

- [NTSB ANC25LA109](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC25LA109.md): Piper PA-12 · Kotlik, AK · Accident · Minor injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report · Sep 16, 2025 · N3816M · Substantial damage
  > The pilot’s failure to maintain airplane control during a go-around in variable wind conditions.
- [NTSB ANC22FA066](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC22FA066.md): Piper PA-12 · Arctic Village, AK · Accident · 1 fatal · Class 3 · Field · Final report · Aug 11, 2022 · N3937M · Substantial damage
  > The pilot’s decision to depart in turbulent and gusting wind conditions, which resulted in a loss of control and impact with terrain.
- [NTSB ERA22FA315](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA22FA315.md): Piper PA12 · Middle Township, NJ · Accident · 1 fatal · Class 3 · Field · Final report · Jul 16, 2022 · N3703M · Substantial damage
  > The pilot’s exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack during a missed banner pickup, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall/spin and loss of control at an altitude too low to recover.
- [NTSB CEN22FA211](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN22FA211.md): Piper PA-12 · Seagraves, TX · Accident · 1 fatal · Class 3 · Field · Final report · May 24, 2022 · N78466 · Destroyed
  > The pilot’s exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack while maneuvering, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall/spin and loss of control.
- [NTSB ANC21LA077](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC21LA077.md): Piper PA-12 · Nikolai, AK · Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report · Aug 28, 2021 · N2579M · Substantial damage
  > The pilot’s loss of control on go-around in gusting crosswind conditions. Contributing to accident was the pilot’s decision to attempt to land at a short off-airport landing site with a malfunctioning airspeed indicator.
- [NTSB ANC17LA033](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC17LA033.md): Piper PA 12 · Skwentna, AK · Accident · No injuries · Class 2 · Limited · Final report · Jun 17, 2017 · N4018H · Destroyed
  > The pilot's failure to properly secure the external load, which resulted in the load shifting during flight, interference with the water rudder cable, and a subsequent loss of control
- [NTSB GAA16CA232](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA16CA232.md): Piper PA 12 · Simsbury, CT · Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report · May 11, 2016 · N3506M · Substantial damage
  > The pilot's failure to attain the proper touchdown point and the airplane's subsequent impact with a fence during an attempted aborted landing.
- [NTSB GAA16CA008](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA16CA008.md): Piper PA · Glennallen, AK · Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report · Oct 7, 2015 · N7879H · Substantial damage
  > The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from trees during the approach to land, resulting in a collision with trees.
- [NTSB CEN12FA594](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN12FA594.md): Piper PA-12 · Rye, CO · Accident · 2 fatal · Field investigation · Final report · Aug 31, 2012 · N3031M · Substantial damage
  > The pilot’s selection of a flightpath toward rising terrain that exceeded the climb capability of the airplane.
- [NTSB ANC11CA094](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC11CA094.md): Piper PA-12 · North Pole, AK · Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report · Sep 5, 2011 · N78463 · Substantial damage
  > The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during takeoff, resulting in an aerodynamic stall and collision with the water.
- [NTSB WPR10FA009](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR10FA009.md): Piper PA-12 · Burlington, WA · Accident · 1 fatal · Field investigation · Final report · Oct 8, 2009 · N2087C · Substantial damage
  > The pilot's in-flight loss of control due to his failure to correctly connect the elevator control cables during the restoration/rebuild of the airplane. Contributing to this accident was the pilot's decision to perform a high-speed taxi test prior to having…

## The whole list in SQL

Runs in DuckDB 1.2 or later on the release's Parquet files over HTTPS:

```sql
SELECT c."ntsbNumber", c."eventDate", c."eventType", c."eventCity", c."eventStateOrRegion", a.n_number, a."aircraftMake", a."aircraftModel", c."highestInjuryLevel", c."totalFatal", c."completionStatus", c.report_url
FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_case_detail.parquet' c LEFT JOIN 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_aircrafts.parquet' a ON a.case_mkey = c."mKey" AND a.position = 1
WHERE c."mKey" IN (SELECT x.case_mkey FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_aircrafts.parquet' x WHERE x.aircraft_model_code IN ('7101202')
    AND EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_events.parquet' e WHERE e.case_mkey = x.case_mkey AND e.aircrafts_position = x.position AND e."isDefiningEvent" AND e."tier2Number" = '240'))
ORDER BY c."eventDate" DESC, c."ntsbNumber" DESC
```

This list as a web page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/cases?model=7101202

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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.