Piper PA-18 accident near Anchorage, Alaska, November 7, 2003
On November 7, 2003 at about 3:27 pm local time, a Piper PA-18, registered N7509K, was substantially damaged in an accident near Anchorage, Alaska (Lake Hood Strip airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 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 flight instructor's inadequate supervision of the flight, and the student pilot's excessive application of the brakes during the landing roll, which resulted in the airplane nosing over. A factor contributing to the accident was the failure to the student pilot to maintain directional control of the airplane.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 7, 2003 · about 3:27 pm local time
- Place
- Anchorage, Alaska · Lake Hood Strip · 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
- N7509K · no longer on the register · serial 18-223
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The certificated flight instructor and the student pilot/owner of the tailwheel-equipped airplane were conducting touch and go landings. During the landing roll, the airplane began to veer to the left, and the student pilot reported that he applied the right brake. He said he then applied excessive braking action on both brakes, and the airplane nosed over. The airplane received damage to the propeller, wingtips, vertical stabilizer, and rudder. The student pilot had accrued about 17 total flight hours.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,750 hours in all; 200 in this make and model; 50 in the last 90 days; 40 in the last 30 days; 1,700 as pilot in command; 1,200 on instruments
- Last flight review: August 31, 2003
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rear
- Injury: no injuries
Dual student
- Flight time: 17 hours in all; 17 in this make and model; 17 in the last 90 days; 17 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: None
- Seat: frt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,585 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 14, 2003; 40 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,750 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Z41 Anchorage AK at 2:45 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 31, 2,200 ft by 70 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 3,100 ft; a few clouds at 800 ft
- Temperature: 39°F (4°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.06 inHg
- Observation at 3:14 pm from PALH
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 N7509K 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.