Piper PA-18 N1961P

Summary

On 12 July 1997 at about 01:00 local time, a Piper PA-18 registered N1961P was involved in an accident near Talkeetna, Alaska, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

12 July 1997 at 01:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Talkeetna, Alaska, United States

Coordinates

62.4505, -149.7896

Aircraft

Piper PA-18

Registration

N1961P

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Anchorage → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC97LA102

Nobody was injured.

water contamination of the fuel supply. Soft, unsuitable terrain for the precautionary landing were factors.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot departed on a local area flight. After about 1.6 hours of flight at 1,200 feet AGL, the pilot positioned the fuel selector from the left fuel tank to the right tank. The engine began to run rough and lose power. Emergency procedures failed to remedy the engine roughness, and the pilot selected an open field area for a precautionary landing. The terrain was soft, and during the landing roll, the airplane nosed over. During the recovery of the airplane, it was turned over onto its landing gear. Recovery personnel reported a check of the fuel tanks revealed about 1 1/2 cups of water in the right fuel tank. Water was not found in the gascolator or the carburetor. After the propeller was replaced, the engine was started, and developed 2,700 RPM. The pilot reported that the weather conditions at the time of the accident included broken clouds at 1,500 feet AGL, with light rain.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.