Piper PA-18 accident near Sanjuan, Puerto Rico, March 4, 2006
On March 4, 2006 at about 1:35 pm local time, a Piper PA-18, registered N2875D, was substantially damaged in an accident near Sanjuan, Puerto Rico. It was a banner-towing 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).
Preview. This page is not yet listed for search engines.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 4, 2006 · about 1:35 pm local time
- Place
- Sanjuan, Puerto Rico · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-18 · all PA-18s on the register
- Registration
- N2875D · registry record · serial 18-1931
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Banner-towing flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot stated that after landing at the appropriate airspeed without the banner on runway 9, she applied appropriate airplane control corrections to maintain the airplane on the runway centerline, but immediately after touchdown a strong gust caused the airplane to ground loop to the right. She said that she applied control corrections to counteract the wind, but the airplane did not respond. The left main landing gear collapsed, and the left wing incurred damage. The pilot said that there were no pre-accident anomalies with the airplane or any of its 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: 405 hours in all; 88 in this make and model; 79 in the last 90 days; 46 in the last 30 days; 320 as pilot in command; 0 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1
- Seat: frt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,004 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, December 1, 2005; 81 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,750 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Textron Lycoming O-360-C1G (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: TJIG Sanjuan PR at 1:10 pm
- Destination: TJIG
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 09, 5,217 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 10 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 30.02 inHg
- Observation at 12:56 pm from SJU
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 N2875D the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number MIA06CA059.