Taylorcraft BL12 accident near Sitka, Alaska, April 28, 1998
On April 28, 1998 at about 4:10 am local time, a Taylorcraft BL12, registered N33902, was destroyed in an accident near Sitka, Alaska. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's attempted VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions. Contributing factors were clouds, the pilot's lack of instrument flight experience, obscuration and mountainous terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 28, 1998 · about 4:10 am local time
- Place
- Sitka, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Taylorcraft BL12 · all BL12s on the register
- Registration
- N33902 · no longer on the register · serial 2753
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The non-instrument rated private pilot departed on a cross-country flight over coastal fjords and mountainous terrain. Prior to departure, the pilot obtained a weather briefing that included AIRMETs for mountain obscuration in clouds and precipitation along the route of flight. No flight plan was filed by the pilot. About 10 hours after departure, an ELT signal was received from a location about 7 miles from the planned destination. Due to low ceilings, helicopter search personnel could not reach the accident site. The following day, the airplane wreckage was located on steep, snow covered mountainous terrain, about 3,000 feet mean sea level. Avalanche conditions prevented rescue personnel from reaching the wreckage until 18 days later.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 100 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 5, 1998
- Maximum gross weight: 1,200 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental A65-8F (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PAYA Yakutat AK at 1:00 pm
- Destination: PASI
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 4,300 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 46°F (8°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:53 pm from PAS, 7 miles away
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.
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.