Piper PA-18 accident near Falls Creek, Alaska, August 3, 1990
On August 3, 1990 at about 8:00 pm local time, a Piper PA-18, registered N159T, was substantially damaged in an accident near Falls Creek, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
PILOT-IN-COMMAND'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN AIRCRAFT CONTROL.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 3, 1990 · about 8:00 pm local time · cases in 1990
- Place
- Falls Creek, Alaska
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-18 · all PA-18s on the register
- Registration
- N159T · registry record · serial 182273
- 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
DURING THE INITIAL CLIMB, THE PILOT-IN-COMMAND LOST CONTROL OF THE AIRPLANE. THE AIRPLANE THEN STALLED AND CRASHED AT THE DEPARTURE END OF THE TAKEOFF AREA. THE AIRCRAFT WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED. THE PILOT AND PASSENGER WERE NOT INJURED.
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; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 5,000 hours in all; 600 in this make and model; 300 in the last 90 days; 100 in the last 30 days; 4,900 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,610 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection; 40 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,750 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-B2A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: dawn
- Visibility: 50 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 50°F (10°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
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 N159T 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
- N159T 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-B2A 11 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 N159T 1 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/ANC90LA131.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.