Piper PA-18A 150 N2694P accident near Galena, Alaska

Probable cause

The total loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.

NTSB analysis

The pilot was on a personal cross-country flight after departing a remote hunting camp when the engine lost power; the pilot landed on the tundra, and the airplane nosed over. The airplane received substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer and empennage. The pilot said that the accident flight was the second flight of the day. Earlier in the day he had attempted the flight but was forced back to the camp by weather. He 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. The pilot was unable to visually check the fuel quantity in the tanks due to the design, but according to the totalizer he should have had enough fuel for the trip. Due to the remote location, the airplane was not examined by the NTSB, and thus no determination was made as to why the engine lost power. Due to the lack of temperature and dew point data, it could not be determined if carburetor icing was a factor in the power loss. The reporting weather station is 60 miles away and the data would probably not be useful.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ANC11LA100 for the full record.