- Date
- July 11, 1997, 17:00 local (Jul 12, 1997, 01:00 UTC)
- Place
- Talkeetna, AK
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N1961PPiper PA-18
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 4, 1998
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19970711020099A
- Case key
- 3025
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
water contamination of the fuel supply. Soft, unsuitable terrain for the precautionary landing were factors.
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 departed on a local area flight. After about 1.6 hours of flight at 1,200 feet AGL, the pilot positioned the fuel selector from the left fuel tank to the right tank. The engine began to run rough and lose power. Emergency procedures failed to remedy the engine roughness, and the pilot selected an open field area for a precautionary landing. The terrain was soft, and during the landing roll, the airplane nosed over. During the recovery of the airplane, it was turned over onto its landing gear. Recovery personnel reported a check of the fuel tanks revealed about 1 1/2 cups of water in the right fuel tank. Water was not found in the gascolator or the carburetor. After the propeller was replaced, the engine was started, and developed 2,700 RPM. The pilot reported that the weather conditions at the time of the accident included broken clouds at 1,500 feet AGL, with light rain.
Factual narrative
On July 11, 1997, about 1700 Alaska daylight time, a tundra tire equipped Piper PA-18 airplane, N1961P, crashed during a precautionary landing about 17 miles west of Talkeetna, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) local area personal flight when the accident occurred. The airplane, registered to and operated by the pilot, sustained substantial damage. The certificated commercial pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight originated at Merrill Field, Anchorage, Alaska, about 1540.
On July 14, 1997, at 0950, the pilot reported in a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), he was in cruise flight at 1,200 feet above the ground (AGL). He switched fuel tanks from the left tank to the right tank. The engine began to run rough, and lose power. Emergency procedures failed to remedy the engine roughness, and the pilot selected an open field area for a precautionary landing. The terrain was soft, and during the landing roll, the airplane nosed over. The airplane received damage to the right wing lift strut, the right wingtip, and the tail assembly.
Aircraft recovery personnel reported on July 21, 1997, that during the removal of the airplane, it was turned onto its landing gear. A check of the fuel tanks revealed about 1 1/2 cups of water in the right fuel tank. Water was not found in the gascolator or the carburetor. After the propeller was replaced, the engine was started, and developed 2,700 RPM.
The pilot reported that the weather conditions at the time of the accident included broken clouds at 1,500 feet AGL, with light rain.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1961P
- Reported as
- Piper PA-18
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18-4190
- Airframe hours
- 2,620
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-A2B, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Jeffrey L. Hagen
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 21, 1997 · 30 hours before
- Departed
- MRI · Anchorage, 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
- 32
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Flight engineer, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane, Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 11,000 total · 600 in this make and model · 3,500 as pilot in command · 150 in the last 90 days · 50 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 1,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 61 °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 N1961P · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.