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ANC23LA048

2023-07-01 · Prospect Creek, Alaska, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Current FAA registration · N40661

Make / Model
MAULE M-4-210C
Year of manufacture
1973 · 50 years old at event
Engine
CONT MOTOR IO-360-D (210 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20200728
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A4C62F

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack on climbout, which resulted in a loss of control and impact with trees.

Factual narrative

The pilot performed a low pass over a highway. During climbout, the pilot maintained an excessive angle of attack and the airplane veered left and impacted trees. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left elevator. The pilot reported there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • — Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Pilot
  • — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Angle of attack-Capability exceeded
  • — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Airspeed-Attain/maintain not possible
  • — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained
  • — Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2023_ANC23LA048.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (loss of control). All research papers