Piper PA-18 accident near Cold Bay, Alaska, June 22, 1998
On June 22, 1998 at about 8:13 pm local time, a Piper PA-18, registered N745, was substantially damaged in an accident near Cold Bay, Alaska. 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 pilot's inadequate compensation for crosswind conditions. The presence of a crosswind was a factor in the accident.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 22, 1998 · about 8:13 pm local time
- Place
- Cold Bay, Alaska · map
- 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
- N745 · no longer on the register · serial 18-7709
- 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 certificated commercial pilot and a passenger, were departing a remote area of beach in a tail wheel equipped airplane. The U.S. government flight was for the purpose of picking up the passenger who had been engaged in a fishery surveillance. The pilot began the takeoff roll toward the west, paralleling the shoreline. A crosswind from the southwest was blowing from the beach toward the water. During takeoff, the airplane veered to the right. The pilot lost directional control of the airplane, and the airplane dropped off the edge of a 5 foot high sand dune and hit in an area of hard, wet sand. The airplane subsequently ground looped to the right, and sustained substantial damage.
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, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,150 hours in all; 116 in this make and model; 48 in the last 90 days; 16 in the last 30 days; 1,350 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,048 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 6, 1998; 35 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,750 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-B2B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Destination: CDB AK
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 225° at 14 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 1,500 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 45°F (7°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 N745 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.