PIPER PA-18A 150

Full Narrative

On September 8, 2011, about 1400 Alaska daylight time, a Piper PA-18A-150 airplane, N2694P, sustained substantial damage during an off-airport emergency landing, about 60 miles southeast of Galena, Alaska, following a complete loss of engine power. The airplane was being operated by the pilot as a personal cross-country flight under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 91, when the accident occurred. The solo pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed. The airplane had departed a hunting camp en route to Galena about 1340.

During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) on September 12, the pilot said the accident flight was the second flight of the day. Earlier in the day he had attempted to fly to Galena, but was forced back to the camp by weather. The pilot had borrowed the airplane for the hunting trip, and was unfamiliar with the fuel system. The airplane was equipped with modified fuel tanks and a digital fuel totalizer. He said the design of the tanks precluded visual inspection of the fuel quantity, but according to the totalizer, he should have had enough fuel for the trip. After the loss of engine power, the pilot attempted to land on the tundra, and the airplane nosed over.

During the nose over, the airplane received substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer and empennage.

Due to the remote location the airplane was not examined by the NTSB, and thus no determination of why the engine lost power could be made.