Piper PA-18 accident near Ekwok, Alaska, October 7, 2000
On October 7, 2000 at about 10:30 pm local time, a Piper PA-18, registered N4882P, was substantially damaged in an accident near Ekwok, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadequate compensation for a crosswind condition. A factor in the accident was a crosswind.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 7, 2000 · about 10:30 pm local time
- Place
- Ekwok, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-18 · all PA-18s on the register
- Registration
- N4882P · registry record · serial 18-7773
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airline transport certificated pilot was departing a remote, tundra covered bench on an air taxi flight. During the takeoff roll toward the north, just as the airplane became airborne, the pilot said a strong wind from left front lifted the left wing. The right main landing gear tire and the right wing struck the ground, and the airplane pivoted to the right. The airplane then went over the edge of the bench and into a creek bed. The airplane received damage to the right wing, fuselage, and empennage. The pilot said the wind conditions were about 300 degrees at 15 knots, gusts to 25 knots.
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: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,973 hours in all; 1,320 in this make and model; 347 in the last 90 days; 110 in the last 30 days; 4,973 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,300 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, September 20, 2000; 40 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,000 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Destination: KEK Ekwok AK
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 300° at 15 knots, gusting 25
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 5,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 19°F (-7°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.
Other NTSB records under N4882P the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.