- Date
- September 10, 2023, 17:30 local (Sep 11, 2023, 01:30 UTC)
- Place
- Juneau, AK
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N4900CPiper/Gerbi Charles R PA 18-150
- Defining event
- Maneuvering: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20230910014769A
- Case key
- 193100
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 student pilot’s failure to maintain altitude after the airplane encountered a downdraft while maneuvering over an area of hilly terrain.
Findings · 3
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The student pilot stated he departed from his remote cabin and recalled experiencing significant downdrafts while maneuvering in an area of hilly terrain. The next thing he remembered is trying to turn off the key after the accident, and then waking up in a hospital. The fuselage and both wings sustained substantial damage. During a postaccident interview with a Federal Aviation Administration inspector, the pilot stated there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot did not submit the National Transportation Safety Board Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident/Incident Report Form 6120.1.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4900C
- Reported as
- Piper/Gerbi Charles R PA 18-150
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- AI-18062
- Built
- 2013
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-A2B, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Equipment
- Unknown
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
- 67
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- BasicMed, Unknown
- Seat
- Front
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 320° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 61 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.69 inHg
- Observed at
- AGS, 13 nm away
- METAR
- PAGS 110056Z AUTO 32007KT 10SM CLR 16/12 A2969 RMK AO2 SLP055 T01560122
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 30, 2024, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 488 KB in all.
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 N4900C · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.