Piper PA18 accident near Big Lake, Alaska, February 29, 2020
On February 29, 2020 at about 1:40 am local time, a 1957 Piper PA18, registered N7384D, was substantially damaged in an accident during initial climb near Big Lake, Alaska (Big Lake airport). 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).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to use carburetor heat in conditions conducive to carburetor icing, which resulted in a partial loss of engine power, a precautionary landing, and impact with snow.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 29, 2020 · about 1:40 am local time
- Place
- Big Lake, Alaska · Big Lake · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA18 150, built 1957 · all PA18s on the register
- Registration
- N7384D · registry record · serial 18-5749
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported that, while performing touch-and-go landings, he applied carburetor heat during the second landing. During takeoff after the second landing, he turned the carburetor heat off and applied full power. Once airborne, the airplane began to lose power, and he manipulated the throttle and carburetor heat levers, but engine power was not restored. He chose to make a precautionary landing straight-ahead on the runway with partial engine power. During the landing, the airplane departed the end of the runway, impacted snow, and nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right-wing lift strut and empennage. A postaccident engine examination and test run revealed no preaccident malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The exact probability of carburetor icing could not be calculated for the accident airport because the closest weather observation station was 8 miles away. However, the pilot stated that, while landing, there were about 3 inches of fresh snow on the runway and that he believed that propeller wash likely introduced snow into the intake, which created carburetor ice. He added that he should have left the carburetor heat on longer after the second landing.
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
What happened, in order
- Other weather encounter during initial climb
- Loss of engine power (partial) during initial climb defining event
- Attempted remediation/recovery during initial climb
- Off-field or emergency landing during landing
- Runway excursion during landing
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during landing
- Nose over/nose down during landing
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Action › Lack of action › Pilot
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Use of equip/system › Pilot
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Ice/rain protection system › Intake anti › ice, deice › Not used/operated
- cause Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Temp/humidity/pressure › Conducive to carburetor icing › Effect on operation
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 11,104 hours in all; 570 in this make and model; 120 in the last 90 days; 39 in the last 30 days; 5,783 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: August 5, 2019
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: frt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,382.2 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 22, 2020
- Maximum gross weight: 1,750 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-E2D (piston); 1,216 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 4AK6 Palmer AK
- Destination: BGQ Big Lake AK
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 7, 2,450 ft by 70 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 250° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 23°F (-5°C), dew point 9°F (-13°C)
- Altimeter: 29.95 inHg
- Observation at 1:56 am from PAWS, 8 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight 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.
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 ANC20CA030.