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Atlas / NTSB / ANC24LA095

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event ANC24LA095

2024-09-21 Bettles, Alaska, United States Airport · PABT None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N808PT

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

PIPER PA-22-150

Year of manufacture

1956 · 68 years old at event

Engine

LYCOMING O-360-A1A (180 hp)

Seats / Engines

4 seats · 1 engine

Last airworthiness date

20201202

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S AB00EC

Registrant of record

DANCING BEAR ALASKA LLC

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s failure to adequately compensate for shifting wind conditions, resulting in a hard landing.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that, while taking off from a lake in a float-equipped airplane in variable, gusty wind conditions, the wind shifted to a quartering tailwind which forced the airplane back onto the water. The hard landing resulted in substantial damage to the lift struts and fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. 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).

  • Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Sudden wind shift-Contributed to outcome
  • Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Pilot
  • Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Aircraft capability-Climb capability-Attain/maintain not possible

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2024_ANC24LA095.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.