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ANC22LA027

2022-03-25 · Chitina, Alaska, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Current FAA registration · N7074K

Make / Model
PIPER PA-20
Year of manufacture
1951 · 71 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19800924
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A9717D

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s exceedance of the wing’s critical angle of attack, which resulted in a stall and impact with terrain.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that during approach to land on a snow-covered glacier, the airplane was “lower and slower” than his previous approaches to the glacier. He executed a go-around, the wind “shifted”, and the airplane stalled and impacted the terrain. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and right wing. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Angle of attack-Not attained/maintained
  • — Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot
  • — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Sudden wind shift-Effect on operation

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2022_ANC22LA027.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (stall, go-around). All research papers