Piper PA-18 accident near Glennallen, Alaska, May 5, 1990
On May 5, 1990, a Piper PA-18, registered N91117, was substantially damaged in an accident near Glennallen, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was seriously injured and 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 PILOT FAILED TO MAINTAIN PROPER ALTITUDE AND TERRAIN CLEARANCE WHILE MANEUVERING.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 5, 1990
- Place
- Glennallen, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-18 · all PA-18s on the register
- Registration
- N91117 · registry record · serial 188109072
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT WAS MANEUVERING AT A LOW LATITUDE WHEN THE AIRPLANE'S LEFT WING STRUCK THE GROUND. THE AIRPLANE WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED AND THE PILOT WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED. THE PASSENGER RECEIVED MINOR INJURIES.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 3,350 hours in all; 1,000 in this make and model; 20 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days; 3,300 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,418 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, September 15, 1989; 39 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,750 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-A2B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: GKN Glennallen AK at 6:45 pm
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 280° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 2,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 45°F (7°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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 N91117 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 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 ANC90LA066.