Piper PA-18 accident near Farewell, Alaska, August 5, 1997
On August 5, 1997 at about 8:30 pm local time, a Piper PA-18, registered N1606A, was substantially damaged in an accident near Farewell, Alaska. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's failure to maintain adequate control of the airplane resulting in an inadvertent stall/mush at low altitude. Factors to the accident were the pilot's low altitude flight maneuver and the gusty winds.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 5, 1997 · about 8:30 pm local time
- Place
- Farewell, Alaska
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-18 · all PA-18s on the register
- Registration
- N1606A · registry record · serial 18-1246
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was maneuvering the airplane at low altitude in gusty wind conditions. He reported that during a turn, a wind gust rolled the airplane to a 75-degree bank angle, the airplane descended, and the right wing struck a tree.
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: 3,884 hours in all; 2,420 in this make and model; 202 in the last 90 days; 70 in the last 30 days; 3,795 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,425 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 11, 1997; 41 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,750 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Z22 Willow AK at 1:30 pm
- Destination: FWL AK
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 40 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 7,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 61°F (16°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.
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 ANC97LA117.