Piper PA-18 accident near Sleetmute, Alaska, September 26, 1998
On September 26, 1998 at about 9:30 pm local time, a Piper PA-18, registered N5697Y, was substantially damaged in an accident near Sleetmute, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain directional control. Contributing factors were the gusty crosswind conditions.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 26, 1998 · about 9:30 pm local time
- Place
- Sleetmute, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-18 · all PA-18s on the register
- Registration
- N5697Y · no longer on the register · serial 18-8293
- 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 airplane was departing a ridgetop site with a right crosswind gusting to 25 knots. The pilot told the NTSB investigator-in-charge that a gust of wind forced the airplane off the left side of the ridge, and the left wing struck the ground.
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: 3,491 hours in all; 3,084 in this make and model; 211 in the last 90 days; 86 in the last 30 days; 3,491 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,291 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, September 22, 1998; 11 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,750 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-A2B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Destination: AK64 Taylor Mtn Mine AK
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 15 knots, gusting 25
- Visibility: 50 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 5,000 ft
- Temperature: 39°F (4°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.
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.