- Date
- September 19, 2000, 17:30 local (Sep 20, 2000, 01:30 UTC)
- Place
- Galena, AK
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N81648Piper PA-18
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 18, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 20000919014659A
- Case key
- 50995
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's inadequate compensation for the wind conditions. Factors were the crosswind, and a snow-covered ridge.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilot said that during takeoff from a snow-covered ridge, a gusty crosswind from the right pushed the airplane off the ridge. He stated that the airplane cartwheeled and broke in half. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings, the fuselage, and tail assembly.
Factual narrative
On September 19, 2000, about 1730 Alaska daylight time, a tundra tire equipped Piper PA-18 airplane, N81648, sustained substantial damage when it nosed over during takeoff from an off airport ridgetop, about 22 miles northeast of Galena, Alaska, at 64 degrees, 52 minutes north latitude, 156 degrees, 06 minutes west longitude. The commercial pilot and the one passenger on board received no injuries. The hunter-guide business flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91, and was departing the ridge for Galena. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and a company VFR flight plan was filed.
The pilot told the NTSB investigator-in-charge (IIC) during a telephone interview on September 20, and in his NTSB pilot/operator report, that during takeoff from a snow-covered ridge, a gusty crosswind from the right pushed the airplane off the ridge. He stated that the airplane cartwheeled and broke in half. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings, the fuselage, and tail assembly.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N81648
- Reported as
- Piper PA-18
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18-6452
- Airframe hours
- 4,278
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Kurt M. Lepping
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 24, 2000
- Destination
- GAL · AK
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 44
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 9,000 total · 5,500 in this make and model · 9,000 as pilot in command · 275 in the last 90 days · 125 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 15 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility
- 40 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 5,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 39 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N81648 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.