Piper PA-18-150 accident near Kenai, Alaska, November 11, 1998
On November 11, 1998 at about 6:00 pm local time, a Piper PA-18-150, registered N3391Z, was substantially damaged in an accident near Kenai, 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).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to use carburetor heat. A factor associated with the accident was weather conducive to carburetor icing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 11, 1998 · about 6:00 pm local time
- Place
- Kenai, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-18-150 · all PA-18-150s on the register
- Registration
- N3391Z · registry record · serial 18-7276
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The private pilot was attempting to land on a remote sand bar. He reported that as the airplane touched down, he determined that the landing area was too short to complete a safe landing, and he attempted to abort the landing. As the throttle was advanced, the engine quit, and that he was unable to stop the airplane before reaching the end of the sand bar. The airplane went down an embankment, entered a river, and nosed over. The pilot related that he did not use carburetor heat during the aborted landing, and that carburetor ice was the reason for the loss in power. He added that there was nothing mechanically wrong with the airplane. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, wings, and the right wing lift strut.
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; single-engine sea
- Flight time: 587 hours in all; 507 in this make and model; 32 in the last 90 days; 2 in the last 30 days; 527 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,939 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 9, 1998; 69 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,650 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-A2B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: ENA AK
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 36°F (2°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.