Piper PA-18 accident near Bullhead City, Arizona, October 30, 1995
On October 30, 1995 at about 2:30 pm local time, a Piper PA-18, registered N6988B, was substantially damaged in an accident near Bullhead City, Arizona. It was an instructional flight 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 failure of the pilot/flight instructor to adequately supervise the student pilot resulting in loss of directional control, and his abrupt overcorrection resulting in a waterloop. A contributing factor was the pilot's limited experience as a flight instructor.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 30, 1995 · about 2:30 pm local time
- Place
- Bullhead City, Arizona · 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
- N6988B · no longer on the register · serial 18-510
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AFTER LANDING ON GLASSY WATER IN CALM WIND CONDITIONS, THE STUDENT PILOT LOST DIRECTIONAL CONTROL OF THE FLOATPLANE AND IT VEERED TOWARD THE SHORELINE. THE FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR MADE AN ABRUPT RUDDER PEDAL INPUT TO AVOID RUNNING AGROUND AND THE AIRCRAFT WATERLOOPED. THE RECENTLY CERTIFICATED FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR HAD ACQUIRED 14 HOURS OF FLIGHT INSTRUCTION EXPERIENCE, OF WHICH 6 HOURS WERE IN FLOATPLANES. THE STUDENT PILOT WAS MAKING HIS FIRST FLOATPLANE LANDING WHEN THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 756 hours in all; 70 in this make and model; 158 in the last 90 days; 50 in the last 30 days; 662 as pilot in command; 14 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rear
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,800 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 21, 1995; 50 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,850 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: AZ at 2:15 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 20,000 ft
- Temperature: 68°F (20°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:54 pm from IFP, 10 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.