Piper PA-18-150 accident near Ketchikan, Alaska, October 11, 2003
On October 11, 2003 at about 8:30 pm local time, a Piper PA-18-150, registered N3573P, was substantially damaged in an accident near Ketchikan, Alaska (Ketchikan International airport). 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 failure to maintain adequate airspeed after an aborted landing, which resulted in an inadvertent stall and a ground loop. A factor contributing to the accident was the loss of directional control on the ground.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 11, 2003 · about 8:30 pm local time
- Place
- Ketchikan, Alaska · Ketchikan International · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-18-150 · all PA-18-150s on the register
- Registration
- N3573P · registry record · serial 18-4527
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The private pilot was practicing touch and go landings in a tailwheel-equipped airplane. He reported he lost directional control during a wheel landing, and he applied full power in an attempt to regain control, but the airplane lifted off steeply and stalled. The airplane subsequently descended off the right side of the runway and ground looped, receiving structural damage to the landing gear, right wing, and fuselage.
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: 64 hours in all; 13 in this make and model; 29 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: March 11, 2003
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,391 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 1, 2003; 30 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,070 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PAKT Ketchikan AK at 1:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 29, 7,500 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 6,000 ft; scat at 4,600 ft
- Temperature: 48°F (9°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 29.52 inHg
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.
Other NTSB records under N3573P 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.