# NTSB ANC25LA111: 217whiskeymike SQ12, N217WM, McGrath, AK, September 20, 2025 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report - Date: September 20, 2025, 12:00 local (20:00 UTC) - Place: McGrath, AK · remote airstrip - Coordinates: 62.954198, -155.64979 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=62.9542&lon=-155.6498&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Taxi](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/250) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Taxi-from runway: Nose over/nose down](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report June 22, 2026 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - Parties: FAA - NTSB case key (mKey): 201707 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC25LA111 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/201707/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=201707 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC25LA111 ## Probable cause The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from a hole in the tundra, which resulted in impact with terrain. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [217whiskeymike SQ12, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md?model=05640F0), [All aircraft, 9,295 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md) - [Planning/preparation](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02061000): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot; cases with it: [217whiskeymike SQ12, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02061000/cases.md?model=05640F0), [All aircraft, 113 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02061000/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Taxi-from runway: Nose over/nose down](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096) (defining event); cases with it: [217whiskeymike SQ12, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096/sequence.md?model=05640F0), [All aircraft, 2,287 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot of a tailwheel-equipped airplane reported that during the landing roll at a remote site, he was applying full engine power to taxi uphill. The airplane’s main landing gear wheels went into a low tundra hole and the airplane subsequently nosed over, sustaining substantial damage to the left wing lift strut. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N217WM](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N217WM), registered now, S/N SQ12-0012, built 2021 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: 217WHISKEYMIKE LLC SQ12 - Registry model: [217whiskeymike SQ12](https://openairdocs.org/model/217whiskeymike-sq12) (registry code 05640F0) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming YIO-390 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-yio-390-series) (registry code 42418, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: SQ12-0012 - Year built: 2023 - Airframe hours: 350 - Engines: Lycoming IO-390 reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Backcountry Adventures LLC - Registered owner: Backcountry Adventures LLC - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Last inspection: Condition, August 1, 2025 - Destination: Same as departure - Equipment: None ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 36; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine sea, single-engine land; medical: class 1; last flight review July 1, 2025; seat: center; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 3,200 total, 1,500 in this make and model, 3,200 as pilot in command, 68 in the last 90 days, 30 in the last 30 days, 4 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: calm - Visibility: 30 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 40 °F - METAR: METAR PAMC 201953Z 33003KT 10SM OVC049 10/07 A2926 RMK AO2 SLP912 T01000067 $= ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20250920015009A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20250920015009A), Sep 20, 2025: 217whiskeymike LLC SQ12, Big River, AK, Substantial damage. Pilot was involved in a hunting trip for a moose. Pilot landed in a clearing, Off Airport, to pick up the moose and decided during the landing roll out to… ## Docket (3 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 22, 2026, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=201707. 28.3 MB in all. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 11 pages, 28.1 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19369074&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=ANC25LA111%206120_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Memorandum for record a�� telephone interview, pilot (item 2, PDF, 1 page, 61 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19444935&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=ANC25LA111%20Pilot%20statement-Rel.pdf - Investigative photographs (item 3, PDF, 2 pages, 145 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19402737&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=ANC25LA111%20Photo-Rel.pdf 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. --- 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.