Piper PA-18-150 accident near Sand Point, Alaska, June 3, 1995
On June 3, 1995 at about 3:40 am local time, a Piper PA-18-150, registered N125FG, was substantially damaged in an accident near Sand Point, Alaska (Sand Point airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 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 premature castoring of the tailwheel steering mechanism. A factor associated the accident is the added degree of difficulty in handling airplanes equipped with oversize 'tundra' tires.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 3, 1995 · about 3:40 am local time
- Place
- Sand Point, Alaska · Sand Point · 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
- N125FG · registry record · serial 317482
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT REPORTED HE HAD LANDED THE 29' TUNDRA TIRE EQUIPPED TAIL WHEEL AIRPLANE ON THE HARD SURFACED RUNWAY AND WAS SLOWING TO TAXI SPEED WHEN THE AIRPLANE SUDDENLY VEERED TO THE RIGHT. HE APPLIED FULL LEFT BRAKE AND RUDDER, BUT WAS UNABLE TO STRAIGHTEN THE AIRPLANE BEFORE THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR COLLAPSED. SUBSEQUENT EXAMINATION OF THE TAILWHEEL STEERING MECHANISM FOUND THE ANTI-CASTORING LIMITS WERE BELOW THE MANUFACTURER'S RECOMMENDED BREAK FREE FORCE, WHICH ALLOWED THE AIRPLANE TO TURN FASTER AND MORE FREELY TO THE RIGHT THAN COMMANDED BY THE RUDDER CONTROL INPUTS. CONVERSATIONS WITH PILOTS WHO HAVE EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE WITH TUNDRA TIRES DISCLOSED THAT AIRPLANES SO EQUIPPED ARE MUCH MORE DIFFICULT TO HANDLE ON HARD SURFACED RUNWAYS THAN AIRPLANES WITH CONVENTIONAL TIRES.
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: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,450 hours in all; 85 in this make and model; 62 in the last 90 days; 60 in the last 30 days; 2,290 as pilot in command; 500 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,382 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 17, 1995; 58 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: Port Moller AK at 10:00 pm
- Destination: SDP
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 31, 4,000 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 310° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 50°F (10°C), dew point 0°F (-18°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 N125FG the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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 never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.