Piper PA-18-150 accident near Northway, Alaska, September 18, 2026

The NTSB's narrative preliminary · quoted from the NTSB record

On September 17, 2026, about 1930 Alaska daylight time, a Piper PA-18-150 airplane, N9128D, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Northway, Alaska. The pilot and passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 on-demand air taxi flight. According to company employees, packers, guides, and hunters were at a moose camp along the Snag Creek known as the “Snag strip.” The purpose of the flight was to transport one of the packers to another moose camp, located about 10 miles east of their position. The employees observed the pilot perform a preflight inspection and load the packer and his backpack into the airplane. They then observed the pilot taxi and takeoff. After the airplane became airborne, the employees turned away and did not observe anything unusual. Shortly thereafter, they heard sounds described as metal popping and observed the airplane on the ground on the opposite side of the creek. The airplane came to rest on a north heading, about 750 ft from the dirt airstrip at an elevation of 3,280 ft. They described the weather as a good flying day with light winds. An investigator from the NTSB Alaska Regional office conducted an on-scene examination of the wreckage. All major components of the airplane remained attached and were accounted for at the accident site. The initial observed impact point was a large bush a few feet in front of the wreckage, where a partially severed branch about 5 ft. above the ground was observed. An upper portion of the bush contained cut marks, while the remainder of the bush was largely undamaged. The airplane subsequently impacted the gravel riverbed in a nose-low attitude near the shoreline, rotated, and came to rest facing opposite the general direction of travel. Flight control continuity was confirmed from the cockpit controls to the respective flight control surfaces. The leading edges were crushed inward. The left and right wing vortex generators were located in the riverbed in a line that paralleled the wings on the ground in front of the airplane. The wing flaps were extended to the second notch. The vertical and horizontal stabilizers appeared undamaged, and the rudder and elevators remained attached. The fuselage was separated forward of the control stick. The instrument panel and the firewall were separated from the fuselage. No control stick was installed in the backseat. The fuel selector was on the LEFT fuel tank. The fuel tanks were breached during the accident sequence. The airplane was recovered to a secure facility for further examination. The flaps had been modified with an STC, they moved freely and with no biding or anomalies noted. The stabilizer trim jackscrew was in a partial nose down trim setting. The carburetor was impact separated from the engine, but the control cables remained attached. Fuel from the header tank and the aft header tank were drained and captured, it was blue and consistent with 100LL. The fuel was tested for the presence of water and was negative. A light borescope inspection was performed on all cylinders, normal combustion deposits were observed, no anomalies were noted. The engine was rotated by hand, and thumb compression was observed on all cylinders. Both magnetos remained attached to the engine, they were removed and rotated by hand. The left magneto produced spark when rotated, the right magneto did not. Further examination of the right magneto revealed fractured aluminum around its attach flange consistent with impact damage. The oil screen was removed and was clean and unobstructed. Oil was observed in the sump, it was light golden brown in color. The condition of all spark plugs was consistent with normal when compared to the Champion Aviation Check-A-Plug chart. The propeller remained attached to the crankshaft propeller flange. Both blades exhibited chordwise scoring and leading edge nicks and gouges. A Garmin Aera was recovered from and sent to the NTSB Recorders Laboratory for download.

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.

Other NTSB records under N9128D the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time