Piper PA-18 accident near Wasilla, Alaska, October 15, 2004
On October 15, 2004 at about 9:00 pm local time, a Piper PA-18, registered N9146D, was substantially damaged in an accident near Wasilla, Alaska (Kalmbach Strip airport). It was a personal 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 pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during the landing approach, which resulted in a stall and an uncontrolled descent to the runway. A factor contributing to the accident was an inadvertent stall.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 15, 2004 · about 9:00 pm local time
- Place
- Wasilla, Alaska · Kalmbach 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
- N9146D · registry record · serial 18-6536
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The private certificated pilot was making a left turn from a base leg entry to the final approach course for landing. The pilot indicated that during the turn, he was about 100 feet above ground level (agl) and over the threshold of the airstrip. He said that he added engine power to arrest his descent, but the engine rpm did not respond for about 3 to 4 seconds. Within that time period, the airplane stalled and descended to the ground. He leveled the wings before runway contact, and the airplane collided with the runway surface in a wings-level attitude. The main landing gear collapsed, and the airplane received damage to the left wing lift struts, the left wingtip, and the propeller.
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; single-engine sea
- Flight time: 1,651 hours in all; 1,256 in this make and model; 32 in the last 90 days; 13 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-A2A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PAWS Wasilla AK
- Destination: 43AK Wasilla AK
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 03
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 45°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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ANC05CA007.