Piper PA-18 accident near Nenana, Alaska, September 13, 2005
On September 13, 2005 at about 9:45 pm local time, a Piper PA-18, registered N7761D, was substantially damaged in an accident near Nenana, Alaska. 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 improper recovery from a bounced landing during the landing roll, which resulted in a loss of control and a nose over.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 13, 2005 · about 9:45 pm local time
- Place
- Nenana, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-18 · all PA-18s on the register
- Registration
- N7761D · registry record · serial 18-5940
- 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 landing at a hunting campsite, where he had landed in the past. The grass-covered landing area is oriented northwest/southeast, and is about 600 feet long, and about 12 feet wide. The pilot said that he landed toward the southeast, and during the landing roll, the main landing gear tires encountered soft terrain. The airplane then nosed over and received structural damage to the rudder, the left wing, and the left wing lift strut. In the Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120.1/2) submitted by the pilot, the pilot reported that during the landing, a gust of wind resulted in a bounced landing. On the second contact with the landing area, the pilot indicated that he was unable to lower the tail of the airplane, and it began to rise, which resulted in a nose over. He reported the wind conditions as 220 degrees magnetic at 8 knots, gusts to 10 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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 138 hours in all; 134 in this make and model; 29 in the last 90 days; 14 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-B2B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PANN Nenana AK
- Destination: Nenana AK
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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 N7761D 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.