Piper PA-18 accident near Mcgrath, Alaska, September 2, 2000
On September 2, 2000 at about 4:00 pm local time, a Piper PA-18, registered N10572, was substantially damaged in an accident near Mcgrath, 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).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadequate removal of frost from the airplane, and the inadvertent stall during takeoff. A factor was wind gusts.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 2, 2000 · about 4:00 pm local time
- Place
- Mcgrath, 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 · all PA-18s on the register
- Registration
- N10572 · registry record · serial 933
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot told the NTSB investigator during a telephone interview on September 2, that during his preflight he noted frost on the wings and tail section of the airplane. He described removing the frost with a rope, and he believed he had adequately cleaned the lifting surfaces. The pilot said the airplane climbed to between five and ten feet above the off airport gravel bar, and then the right wing stalled. He said the right wing struck the ground and the airplane cartwheeled. The pilot said he believed frost on the airplane's wings caused the stall. The pilot wrote in his NTSB pilot/operator report on September 10, that the winds were gusty at the time of the accident. He wrote that as soon as the airplane lifted off, a gust 'caught the aircraft and forced the right wing down.' The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing, tail assembly, and empennage.
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
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 800 hours in all; 750 in this make and model; 26 in the last 90 days; 26 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,500 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 1, 2000; 20 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,750 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Destination: MRI Anchorage AK
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 45°F (7°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.