Piper PA-22-150 accident near Bettles, Alaska, September 21, 2024
On September 21, 2024 at about 7:30 pm local time, a 1956 Piper PA-22-150, registered N808PT, was substantially damaged in an accident during takeoff near Bettles, Alaska (Bettles airport). It was a business flight under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 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 adequately compensate for shifting wind conditions, resulting in a hard landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 21, 2024 · about 7:30 pm local time
- Place
- Bettles, Alaska · Bettles · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-22-150, built 1956 · all PA-22-150s on the register
- Registration
- N808PT · registry record · serial 22-4644
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business flight · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported that, while taking off from a lake in a float-equipped airplane in variable, gusty wind conditions, the wind shifted to a quartering tailwind which forced the airplane back onto the water. The hard landing resulted in substantial damage to the lift struts and fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident 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
- Windshear or thunderstorm during takeoff defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Wind › Sudden wind shift › Contributed to outcome
- Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Pilot
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Aircraft capability › Climb capability › Attain/maintain not possible
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,866.3 hours in all; 1,600 in this make and model; 179 in the last 90 days; 75 in the last 30 days; 1,686.9 as pilot in command; 256.4 on instruments
- Last flight review: July 23, 2024
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: frt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,626.9 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, September 3, 2024; 35 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,100 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-a1a (piston); 5,116 hours total
- Operator: Dancing Bear Alaska, LLC
The flight
- Departed from: PABT Bettles AK at 9:00 pm
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 11,000 ft; scat at 3,500 ft
- Temperature: 34°F (1°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 29.85 inHg
- Observation at 1:53 am from PABT, 7 miles away
Weather report (METAR): PABT 210953Z 00000KT 10SM SCT035 BKN110 01/M01 A2985 RMK AO2 SLP120 T00061006 $
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Photographs from the investigation 2 pictures from the NTSB's docket, as the NTSB released them
Photograph 1 – View of left side of accident airplane
Photograph 2 – View of right side of accident airplaneThe NTSB's photographs with the NTSB's captions, at screen size. Open a picture to see it full size or to report one that should not be shown.
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
2 documents, released by the NTSB on June 5, 2025. 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, 10 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Photos | PDF, 3 pages · our copy | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
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.