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Accidents · NTSB ANC94LA137 · Final report

Piper PA-18-150 accident near Port Alsworth, Alaska, September 15, 1994

On September 15, 1994 at about 4:15 am local time, a Piper PA-18-150, registered N3930Z, was substantially damaged in an accident near Port Alsworth, 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 visual conditions (good weather).

The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged

THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN A POSITIVE RATE OF CLIMB.

Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.

What the record shows

Date
September 15, 1994 · about 4:15 am local time · cases in 1994
Place
Port Alsworth, Alaska · map
Type
Accident
Injuries
No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
Weather
visual conditions (good weather)
Aircraft
Piper PA-18-150 · all PA-18-150s on the register
Registration
N3930Z · registry record · serial 18-7777
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 REPORTED THAT AFTER LIFTOFF FROM THE REMOTE LAKE, THE AIRPLANE WAS CLIMBING AT THE BEST ANGLE OF CLIMB AIRSPEED WHEN IT ENCOUNTERED 'DEAD AIR'. THE AIRSPEED BEGAN TO DECREASE, AND THE AIRPLANE BEGAN TO LOSE ALTITUDE. IT THEN COLLIDED WITH SEVERAL TREES ABOUT 1/2 MI FROM THE POINT OF DEPARTURE. THE PILOT DESCRIBED THE WIND CONDITIONS AS LIGHT AND VARIABLE.

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
  • Flight time: 1,248 hours in all; 39 in this make and model; 230 in the last 90 days; 92 in the last 30 days; 1,155 as pilot in command
  • Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
  • Seat: frt

The aircraft

  • Airframe total time: 2,284 hours
  • Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, September 9, 1993; 52 hours since
  • Maximum gross weight: 1,925 lb
  • Seats: 2
  • Landing gear: fixed
  • Engine: Lycoming O-320-A2B (piston); 0 hours total
  • Operator: 4W Air

The flight

  • Destination: AK
  • Runway 0

Weather at the time

  • Light: daylight
  • Visibility: 20 statute miles
  • Sky: overcast at 3,000 ft; not recorded
  • Temperature: 50°F (10°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)

Injuries

FatalSeriousMinorNone
Crew1
Passengers1

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.

Connections how this case links to the rest of the register

Aircraft
Place
Analytics

The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/ANC94LA137.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.