- Date
- September 5, 1987, 15:45 local (23:45 UTC)
- Place
- Mcgrath, AK
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N4191ZPiper PA-18
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 31, 1988
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19870905069959A
- Case key
- 4906
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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
A local hunting guide crashed his airplane in a remote mountain pass in central Alaska. Another guide who overflew the crash site shortly after the accident saw the airplane burning, but was unable to land due to strong winds, severe turbulence and strong downdrafts. The private pilot-in-command of the crashed airplane was killed and the airplane was destroyed. Earlier conversations between the PIC and a state trooper revealed that the former liked to fly low to the ground during hunting season in order to keep from disturbing sheep on the mountain sides. Physical evidence at the accd site indicated that a wingtip initially struck the ground followed by the acft cartwheeling.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4191Z
- Reported as
- Piper PA-18
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 8613
- Airframe hours
- 2,291
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-A2B, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Clark L. Engle
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 22, 1987 · 97 hours before
- Departed
- Purkeypile Mine, AK
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
- 55
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 4,000 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 0° at 40 knots, gusting 10
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 4,000 ft broken
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 N4191Z · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.