Piper PA-18 accident near Anchorage, Alaska, October 24, 2007
On October 24, 2007 at about 1:30 am local time, a Piper PA-18, registered N3236P, was substantially damaged in an accident near Anchorage, 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 selection of an unsuitable landing area which resulted in an on ground encounter with terrain, 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
- October 24, 2007 · about 1:30 am local time
- Place
- Anchorage, 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
- N3236P · registry record · serial 18-6766
- 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 landing at a snow and ice-covered off-airport site in a tailwheel-equipped airplane during a Title 14, CFR Part 91 personal flight. The pilot reported that after landing, the airplane's main landing gear wheels broke through a thin layer of ice, and the airplane nosed over. The airplane sustained structural damage to the right wing lift strut. The pilot noted that there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane.
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: 372 hours in all; 310 in this make and model; 119 in the last 90 days; 19 in the last 30 days; 300 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: August 1, 2007
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: frt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,266.9 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 1, 2007; 133.3 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: BCV Chugiak AK at 7:00 pm
- Destination: Anchorage AK
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 2,000 ft
- Temperature: 30°F (-1°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 N3236P 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.