Piper PA-18-150 accident near Cold Foot, Alaska, August 20, 2005
On August 20, 2005 at about 10:00 pm local time, a Piper PA-18-150, registered N13833, was substantially damaged in an accident near Cold Foot, Alaska. It was a public-use flight (federal) under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's selection of unsuitable terrain for landing, which resulted in the airplane nosing down during the landing roll. A factor associated with the accident was the rough and uneven terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 20, 2005 · about 10:00 pm local time
- Place
- Cold Foot, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-18-150 · all PA-18-150s on the register
- Registration
- N13833 · registry record · serial 18-8959
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Public-use flight (federal) · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The commercial pilot was conducting a 14 CFR Part 91 public use flight, and was landing the tundra tire-equipped, tailwheel airplane on an off-airport landing site in support of federal law enforcement activities. The pilot said he landed on an unimproved strip of tundra, and during the landing roll the right main wheel hit an unseen ledge, and then a hole, and nosed down. According to the pilot, there were no known mechanical anomalies with the airplane prior to the accident. The operator said the airplane sustained a broken engine mount, and structural damage to the forward fuselage and firewall.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,200 hours in all; 150 in the last 90 days; 30 in the last 30 days; 3,150 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: October 1, 2003
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: frt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,965 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, June 1, 2005
- Maximum gross weight: 2,000 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-A2B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Cold Foot AK
- Destination: Cold Foot AK
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 50°F (10°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 N13833 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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 ANC05TA126.