Piper PA-18-160 accident near Palmer, Alaska, June 14, 2000
On June 14, 2000 at about 7:30 am local time, a Piper PA-18-160, registered N9963Q, was substantially damaged in an accident near Palmer, Alaska. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadequate compensation for wind conditions. A factor associated in the accident was a variable wind.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 14, 2000 · about 7:30 am local time
- Place
- Palmer, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-18-160 · all PA-18-160s on the register
- Registration
- N9963Q · registry record · serial 18-3950
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The certificated airline transport pilot was practicing touch-and-go landings on a remote sand bar. He stated that during his fifth landing, just prior to touchdown, a gust of wind lifted the right wing, and the left wing struck the ground. He said that as the airplane pivoted 45 degrees to the left, the right main landing gear struck the ground and collapsed. The right wing sustained substantial damage to the main spar.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- IN FLIGHT ENCOUNTER WITH WEATHER during landing - flare/touchdown
- IN FLIGHT COLLISION WITH TERRAIN/WATER during landing - flare/touchdown
- GEAR COLLAPSED during landing - flare/touchdown
Pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land, AME, ASE, IAIR, APLN, helicopter, helicopter
- Flight time: 13,600 hours in all; 180 in this make and model; 180 in the last 90 days; 85 in the last 30 days; 5,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: class 1
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,873 hours
- Last inspection: type not recorded, August 4, 1999; 187 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,750 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-B2B (piston); 0 hours total
- Operating certificate: in the vicinity
The flight
- Departed from: AK50 Sky Ranch AK at 1:00 am
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 15 knots
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 50°C, dew point 0°C
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Other NTSB records under N9963Q the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ANC00LA070.