Piper PA-18-150 accident near Yenta Glacier, Alaska, August 18, 1988
On August 18, 1988 at about 4:30 am local time, a Piper PA-18-150, registered N2460A, was substantially damaged in an accident near Yenta Glacier, 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 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 November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 18, 1988 · about 4:30 am local time · cases in 1988
- Place
- Yenta Glacier, Alaska
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-18-150 · all PA-18-150s on the register
- Registration
- N2460A · registry record · serial 181945
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING THE TAKEOFF ROLL ON THE GRAVEL BAR, THE PILOT LOST DIRECTIONAL CONTROL OF THE AIRPLANE CAUSING THE PLANE TO NOSE OVER ON ITS BACK. EXAMINATION OF THE LEFT BRAKE REVEALED THAT THE BRAKE WAS FROZEN WITH MUD.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 1,311 hours in all; 1,250 in this make and model; 70 in the last 90 days; 30 in the last 30 days; 1,250 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,473 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 23, 1988; 29 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,750 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-A2B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 40 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 8,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N2460A the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N2460A on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Piper PA-18 Super Cub 3,620 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Piper 44,842 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-A2B 179 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Accidents and incidents in Alaska 5,932 since 1982 · 825 in the last ten years
- Alaska 9,142 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N2460A 4 records · the number may have belonged to another aircraft at the time
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/ANC88LA114.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.