Piper PA-12 accident near Delta, Alaska, July 17, 2011

The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record

Witnesses reported that the airplane was departing a private airstrip. It reached an altitude of about 200-300 feet above the ground when the engine lost all power, and the airplane began a left turn. During the turn, the airplane's nose pitched down abruptly, and the airplane collided with the ground in a steep, nose-down attitude. Two of the witnesses, both of whom are pilots, noted that before the loss of power, the engine made some popping noises and sounded unusual. A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine disclosed no mechanical malfunctions. A carburetor icing probability chart indicated that the relative humidity and temperature at a nearby airport about the time of the accident was conducive to serious icing at glide power. Although carburetor icing was possible, absent any mechanical malfunctions or fuel contamination, it could not be determined why the engine lost power. The accident site was adjacent to a road and about 300 yards from a clear field. Despite these potential landing areas, the pilot decided to attempt to return to the airstrip by initiating a turn at low altitude and low airspeed following the loss of engine power, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and a loss of control with insufficient altitude to recover. During the impact, the pilot's seat separated from the airframe and moved forward about 6 inches, which allowed the pilot to impact the instrument panel and subsequently contributed to the severity of the pilot's injuries.

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.

Other NTSB records under N92770 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time