217Whiskeymike LLC SQ12 accident near Mcgrath, Alaska, September 20, 2025
On September 20, 2025 at about 8:00 pm local time, a 2023 217Whiskeymike LLC SQ12, an amateur-built aircraft,, registered N217WM, was substantially damaged in an accident during taxi (from runway) near Mcgrath, 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).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from a hole in the tundra, which resulted in impact with terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 20, 2025 · about 8:00 pm local time
- Place
- Mcgrath, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- 217Whiskeymike LLC SQ12, built 2023, amateur-built
- Registration
- N217WM · registry record · serial SQ12-0012
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot of a tailwheel-equipped airplane reported that during the landing roll at a remote site, he was applying full engine power to taxi uphill. The airplane’s main landing gear wheels went into a low tundra hole and the airplane subsequently nosed over, sustaining substantial damage to the left wing lift strut. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures 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 taxi (from runway) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Planning/preparation › (general) › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; single-engine sea
- Flight time: 3,200 hours in all; 1,500 in this make and model; 68 in the last 90 days; 30 in the last 30 days; 3,200 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: July 1, 2025
- Medical certificate: Class 1
- Seat: ctr
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 350 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, August 1, 2025
- Maximum gross weight: 1,550 lb
- Seats: 3
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-390 (piston); 350 hours total
- Operator: Backcountry Adventures LLC
The flight
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 40°F (4°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Weather report (METAR): METAR PAMC 201953Z 33003KT 10SM OVC049 10/07 A2926 RMK AO2 SLP912 T01000067 $=
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 June 22, 2026. 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, 11 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Memorandum for Record A�� Telephone Interview, Pilot | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 3 | Investigative Photographs | PDF, 2 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.
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 ANC25LA111.