Skip to content

ANC89GA055

1989-04-03 · KOTZEBUE, Alaska, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport OTZ

Current FAA registration · N7085

Make / Model
PIPER PA-18-150
Year of manufacture
1963 · 26 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19631107
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A9754D

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE PILOT CONTINUED FLIGHT INTO IFR CONDITIONS AND FAILED TO MAINTAIN THE ALTITUDE. CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WAS THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO OBTAIN A WEATHER BRIEFING AND THE DETERIORATING WEATHER CONDITIONS WHICH WERE ENCOUNTERED.

Factual narrative

THE PRIVATE PILOT, A STATE FISH AND WILDLIFE PROTECTION OFFICER, CONTINUED VFR INTO IFR CONDITIONS THEN LOST CONTROL AND CRASHED THE AIRPLANE WHILE TRYING TO EXECUTE A 180 DEGREE TURN BACK TO VFR CONDITION. THE CRASH WAS ABOUT TWO HOURS BEFORE SUNSET AND 14 NM FROM HIS HOME BASE FROM WHICH THE PILOT HAD DEPARTED OVER 8 HOURS EARLIER. HIS PVT PILOT CERTIFICATE HAD A LIMITATION PROHIBITING NIGHT FLIGHT. THE AIRPLANE WAS NOT EQUIPPED, & THE PILOT WAS NOT RATED FOR, INSTRUMENT FLIGHT. ALTHOUGH AVAILABLE AT THE POINT OF DEPARTURE AND ENROUTE, NO WX BRIEFING WAS OBTAINED EITHER PRIOR TO OR DURING THE FLIGHT. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1989_ANC89GA055.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.