Piper PA-18-150 accident near Levelock, Alaska, July 26, 1987
On July 26, 1987 at about 10:00 pm local time, a Piper PA-18-150, registered N6978B, was substantially damaged in an accident near Levelock, Alaska (Levelock airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 26, 1987 · about 10:00 pm local time
- Place
- Levelock, Alaska · Levelock · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-18-150 · all PA-18-150s on the register
- Registration
- N6978B · registry record · serial 185100
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AS THE PILOT OF THE PIPER PA-18 AIRPLANE WAS COMPLETING HIS LANDING ROLL AT THE UNATTENDED AIRPORT, THREE CHILDREN, RIDING AN ALL TERRAIN VEHICLE (ATV), PULLED ONTO THE RUNWAY AND WERE STRUCK BY THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE ACFT. THE PILOT ATTEMPTED TO AVOID THE VEHICLE BUT WAS NOT ABLE TO STOP BEFORE COLLIDING WITH IT. TRACKS ALONGSIDE THE RUNWAYS INDICATED THEY WERE USED BY VARIOUS VEHICLES AS A MATTER OF CONVENIENCE. THESE TRACKS WERE NOT LEVEL OR STRAIGHT AND MANY INDICATED THAT THE VEHICLES MAKING THEM FREQUENTLY PULLED UP ONTO THE RUNWAYS WHICH WERE SMOOTH SURFACED. THERE WERE NUMEROUS AREAS OUTSIDE THE RUNWAY EDGES WHERE AN INDIVIDUALS VIEW OF THE RUNWAY WOULD BE OBSTRUCTED.
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
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 10,000 hours in all; 1,000 in this make and model; 20 in the last 90 days; 10,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,572 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 13, 1987; 20 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,750 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 5NK Naknek AK at 4:45 pm
- Destination: 1L1 Iliamna AK
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 29, 1,915 ft by 65 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 315° at 15 knots
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Other NTSB records under N6978B the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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 docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site 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 ANC87LA109.