Piper PA-18 accident near Palmer, Alaska, November 26, 2021
On November 26, 2021 at about 8:10 pm local time, a 1951 Piper PA-18, registered N1380A, was substantially damaged in an accident during enroute near Palmer, 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 failure to effectively use carburetor heat in conditions conducive to the formation of carburetor ice, which resulted in a partial loss of engine power, off-airport landing, and nose over.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 26, 2021 · about 8:10 pm local time · cases in 2021
- Place
- Palmer, 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 NO SERIES, built 1951 · all PA-18s on the register
- Registration
- N1380A · registry record · serial 18-1211
- 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 enroute, the airplane encountered carburetor icing, and he made a precautionary landing on an off-airport snow-covered airstrip. During the landing, the airplane nosed over and came to rest inverted. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the empennage. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
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
- Loss of engine power (partial) during enroute defining event
- Nose over/nose down during landing
- Off-field or emergency landing during landing
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Action/decision › Action › Lack of action › Pilot
- Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Temp/humidity/pressure › Conducive to carburetor icing › Effect on operation
- Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Ice/rain protection system › Intake anti › ice, deice › Incorrect use/operation other cases naming the heating, ice protection and utility systems
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; single-engine sea
- Flight time: 696.2 hours in all; 13.2 in the last 90 days; 4.2 in the last 30 days; 624.2 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: July 26, 2021
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: frt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 11,854 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 15, 2021
- Maximum gross weight: 1,750 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O 320-B2B (piston); 5,932 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PAAQ Palmer AK at 7:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 10,000 ft; scat at 3,700 ft
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point -4°F (-20°C)
- Altimeter: 29.62 inHg
- Observation at 10:53 am from PAAQ, 25 miles away
Weather report (METAR): PAAQ 261953Z 00000KT 10SM SCT037 BKN100 M18/M20 A2962 RMK AO2 SLP040 T11831200
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
3 documents, released by the NTSB on May 12, 2022. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 9 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Pilot Roc | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 3 | Accident Picture | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N1380A on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Piper PA-18 Super Cub 3,620 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Piper 44,848 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Lycoming O 320-B2B 92 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Warren "Bud" Woods Palmer Municipal · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in Alaska 5,932 since 1982 · 826 in the last ten years
- Alaska 9,146 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/ANC22LA008.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.