Event ANC23LA060

Factual narrative

On August 04, 2023, about 1843 Alaska daylight time, a Piper PA-12S airplane, N2262G, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident near Igiugig, Alaska. The pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated by the pilot as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot reported he departed with 3 hours and 40 minutes of fuel on board for the 2 hour and 44-minute flight. He reported that when he was 8 miles from his destination, the airplane engine began to run rough, and the power was surging. He performed the engine rough running procedures, including confirming that the fuel selector was set to both tanks, he adjusted the throttle and mixture, checked the magnetos, verified that the primer was in and locked, and he pulled the carburetor heat on. The pilot turned right to a landing spot and the engine regained full power but then resumed a steady power loss until it lost all power. During the forced landing, the airplane encountered a deep hole in the tundra and the airplane veered right 90° before coming to a complete stop. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and left wing. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed both the left and right fuel tanks contained no usable fuel. After adding fuel to the left wing fuel tank the engine started normally. The engine idled smoothly at 600 rpm. After the engine was warmed up, it accelerated normally to a static rpm of 2250 rpm. The engine had good oil pressure. Carburetor heat functioned normally when tested. The engine performed normally with no abnormalities observed. The pilot reported he was about 8 miles from his destination when the engine began to run rough and the power began to surge. He confirmed the fuel selector was set to both tanks, adjusted throttle and mixture, checked the magnetos and primer, and he pulled the carburetor heat on. As he turned to line up for an off-airport landing, the engine regained full power but then resumed a steady power loss until it lost all power. The landing gear contacted a deep hole in the tundra during the landing and the airplane veered right 90° before coming to a complete stop. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and left wing. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed both the left and right fuel tank contained no usable fuel. After adding fuel to the fuel tank, the engine performed normally with no abnormalities observed. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

• — Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Fluid level
• — Personnel issues-Task performance-Planning/preparation-Fuel planning-Pilot