Piper PA-18-150 accident near Scottsdale, Arizona, August 21, 2000
On August 21, 2000 at about 7:00 pm local time, a Piper PA-18-150, registered N91003, was substantially damaged in an accident near Scottsdale, Arizona (Scottsdale Airport). 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
Failure of the pilot to maintain directional control on the landing rollout. Also causal to the accident was his failure to retract flaps during the aborted landing attempt, which lead to a loss of lift and a hard landing followed by a ground loop.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 21, 2000 · about 7:00 pm local time
- Place
- Scottsdale, Arizona · Scottsdale Airport · 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
- N91003 · no longer on the register · serial 18-8109059
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane landed hard and ground looped. On the landing rollout the right wing and landing gear were lifted by wind. The airplane veered to the left. The pilot leveled the airplane and attempted to regain directional control with rudder input. He aborted the landing because he thought he was going to ground loop. He added full power but did not retract the flaps. Once airborne he maneuvered to avoid a taxi light and attempted to regain runway heading. The airplane lost lift and landed hard. The pilot noted no mechanical malfunctions with the flight control (rudder) or brake systems.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,495 hours in all; 460 in this make and model; 55 in the last 90 days; 1,370 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,452 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 5, 2000; 3 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,750 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: GEU Glendale AZ at 6:40 pm
- Destination: SDL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 21, 8,249 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 200° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 40 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 25,000 ft; scat at 16,000 ft
- Temperature: 207°F (97°C), dew point 129°F (54°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:50 pm from SDL
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.
Other NTSB records under N91003 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.