Taylorcraft BC12-D1 accident near Willow, Alaska, May 18, 2025
On May 18, 2025 at about 10:12 pm local time, a 1946 Taylorcraft BC12-D1, registered N44473, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (landing roll) near Willow, 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 inadvertent application of brakes during landing, which resulted in a nose over.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 18, 2025 · about 10:12 pm local time · cases in 2025
- Place
- Willow, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Taylorcraft BC12-D1, built 1946 · all BC12-D1s on the register
- Registration
- N44473 · registry record · serial 10273
- 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 landing on a sandy gravel bar in a tailwheel-equipped airplane, the airplane bounced slightly during touchdown. Subsequently, the pilot inadvertently applied the brakes, and the airplane nosed over, which resulted in substantial damage to the left wing lift strut, vertical stabilizer, and rudder. 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
- Nose over/nose down during landing (landing roll) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Surface speed/braking › Incorrect use/operation
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Runway/land/takeoff/taxi surface › Soft surface › Contributed to outcome
- Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Brake › Unintentional use/operation other cases naming the landing gear
- Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Identification/recognition › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 465.7 hours in all; 340.3 in this make and model; 27 in the last 90 days; 8.3 in the last 30 days; 396.5 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: October 12, 2022
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,085.5 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 26, 2025; 10.5 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,200 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O200-A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 2D3 Palmer AK at 8:52 pm
- Flight plan: VFR then IFR
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 7,500 ft
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 29.82 inHg
- Observation at 1:56 pm from AWS, 24 miles away
Weather report (METAR): PAWS 182156Z AUTO 00000KT 10SM BKN075 13/06 A2982 RMK AO2 SLPNO T01330061
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 – Image of right wing, fuselage, and empennage
Photograph 2 – Image of wings, fuselage, and empennageThe 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 August 11, 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.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N44473 on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Taylorcraft BC12 BC-12D 1,224 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Taylorcraft 1,896 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Continental O200-A 297 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Gooding Lake Seaplane Base · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in Alaska 5,932 since 1982 · 823 in the last ten years
- Alaska 9,144 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/ANC25LA039.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.