- Date
- April 22, 1989, 14:15 local (22:15 UTC)
- Place
- Talkeetna, AK
- Injuries
- 3 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N1738APiper PA-18
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 12, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19890422011469A
- Case key
- 5179
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 continued VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions and the inadvertant stall/mush of the airplane. Contributing factors are the pilot's overconfidence, self-induced pressure, mountainous terrain and whiteout conditions.
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 private pilot had taken two passengers for a scenic ride in his one passenger airplane. He was flying in mountainous terrain over the ruth glacier near mount mckinley. He saw the word 'help' stamped in the snow by a group of mountain climbers, two of which were injured. He elected to land to see if he could help, but encountered reduced visibility due to snow and low clouds. He attempted a go-around but stalled the airplane about 30 feet AGL. He and his two passengers escaped with minor injuries and waited rescue with the climbers in a nearby cabin.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1738A
- Reported as
- Piper PA-18
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18-1311
- Airframe hours
- 1,653
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-A2B, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Niver, Mark A.
- Registered owner
- Niver, Mark A
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 22, 1988 · 67 hours before
- Departed
- BGQ · Big Lake, AK
- Airport
- NONE
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
- 31
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 1,095 total · 711 in this make and model · 1,066 as pilot in command · 14 in the last 90 days · 7 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Lowest ceiling
- 100 ft broken
- Temperature
- 25 °F
- Observed at
- TKA
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.