Piper PA-18 accident near Talkeetna, Alaska, July 12, 1997
On July 12, 1997 at about 1:00 am local time, a Piper PA-18, registered N1961P, was substantially damaged in an accident near Talkeetna, 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).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
water contamination of the fuel supply. Soft, unsuitable terrain for the precautionary landing were factors.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 12, 1997 · about 1:00 am local time
- Place
- Talkeetna, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-18 · all PA-18s on the register
- Registration
- N1961P · registry record · serial 18-4190
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot departed on a local area flight. After about 1.6 hours of flight at 1,200 feet AGL, the pilot positioned the fuel selector from the left fuel tank to the right tank. The engine began to run rough and lose power. Emergency procedures failed to remedy the engine roughness, and the pilot selected an open field area for a precautionary landing. The terrain was soft, and during the landing roll, the airplane nosed over. During the recovery of the airplane, it was turned over onto its landing gear. Recovery personnel reported a check of the fuel tanks revealed about 1 1/2 cups of water in the right fuel tank. Water was not found in the gascolator or the carburetor. After the propeller was replaced, the engine was started, and developed 2,700 RPM. The pilot reported that the weather conditions at the time of the accident included broken clouds at 1,500 feet AGL, with light rain.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: helicopter; instructor: instrument airplane; instructor: instrument helicopter; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 11,000 hours in all; 600 in this make and model; 150 in the last 90 days; 50 in the last 30 days; 3,500 as pilot in command; 300 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,620 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 21, 1997; 30 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: MRI Anchorage AK at 6:40 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 300° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 1,500 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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 N1961P 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 ANC97LA102.