Aviat A1 accident near Anchorage, Alaska, April 20, 2003
On April 20, 2003 at about 2:00 am local time, a Aviat A1, registered N36LE, was substantially damaged in an accident near Anchorage, Alaska (Goose Bay airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The flight instructor's excessive application of the brakes during the landing roll, which resulted in the airplane nosing over.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 20, 2003 · about 2:00 am local time
- Place
- Anchorage, Alaska · Goose Bay · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Aviat A1
- Registration
- N36LE · registry record · serial 1198
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot was receiving primary flight instruction in his tailwheel airplane. According to the student and the flight instructor, the instructor was demonstrating a short field landing on a gravel airstrip. The instructor said that shortly after touchdown, he inadvertently applied the brakes too hard and for too long. He said due to excessive application of the brakes, the airplane nosed over.
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
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 15,000 hours in all; 100 in this make and model; 200 in the last 90 days; 80 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: September 3, 2002
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rear
- Injury: minor injuries
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection
- Maximum gross weight: 1,800 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360C1G (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MRI Anchorage AK at 8:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 25, 3,000 ft by 75 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 39°F (4°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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 N36LE 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.