Piper PA-18 N44536

Summary

On 28 June 1998 at about 17:00 local time, a Piper PA-18 registered N44536 was involved in an accident near Big Creek, Idaho, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

28 June 1998 at 17:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Big Creek, Idaho, United States

Nearest airport

Big Creek (U60)

Coordinates

44.5908, -115.5703

Aircraft

Piper PA-18

Registration

N44536

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Caldwell

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA98LA113

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed while maneuvering to an emergency landing, resulting in an inadvertent stall/mush into the terrain. A contributing factor was the high density altitude.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

Just after takeoff from the grass/turf airstrip, the pilot sensed that something was wrong with the way the aircraft was performing. Since he was concerned that the perceived performance irregularity may be related to a 'repair' he had performed using duct tape to strengthen a bent wing rib and to cover torn wing skin, he elected to make an immediate emergency landing. In order to land in the opposite direction from which he took off, the pilot turned right about 70 or 80 degrees, and then entered a steeply banked left turn in order to bring the aircraft back around to the runway. As the aircraft neared the runway, the turn tightened, and the pilot let the aircraft get below minimum power-on stalling speed. The aircraft then stall/mushed into the terrain. According to witnesses, the aircraft never got more than 100 feet above the ground (AGL) during the entire maneuver. The density altitude was later calculated to be approximately 7,800 feet.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.