NTSB Cites Weather, Terrain as Possible Factors in Denali Accident

Unable to reach the crash site, investigators documented the wreckage with a drone and aerial photography for the preliminary report.

Meg Godlewski

Thursday, August 31, 2023 at 02:43 PM ET

Verified

Accident site location. [Credit: NTSB]

Key Takeaways:

A Piper PA-18-150 crash in remote Alaska killed both the pilot and passenger while transporting a sheep hunter, with the wreckage located four days later in a steep ravine.
The search for the overdue aircraft was hampered by poor weather, and the crash site in Shellabarger Pass was inaccessible to NTSB investigators and recovery teams due to steep, unstable terrain.
The remote accident location had limited weather reporting facilities, highlighting the inherent challenges of aviation in Alaska's vast and mountainous environment.

See a mistake? Contact us.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released the preliminary report into a fatal accident earlier this month involving a Piper PA-18-150 (Super Cub) in steep terrain 60 miles northwest of Skwentna, Alaska. Both the pilot and passenger were killed.

On August 6, the pilot and two sheep hunters departed from the Big Lake Airport (PAGQ), Big Lake, Alaska, in a Cessna 206 to scout the Dillinger River area for a possible hunting location and a suitable landing area for the pilot’s PA-18.