No fatalities

Tailwheel Airplane Crash During Landing at Off-Airport Site

Willow, AK, United States

On June 16, 2012, a PIPER PA-18 was involved in an aviation accident near Willow, AK. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot's decision to land on an unsuitable landing surface into bright sunlight, which resulted in a loss of control. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 12 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 2026-08-03Data APIEditorial standards

A pilot lost control of a tailwheel-equipped airplane after bouncing during a landing on a rough, uneven off-airport site in bright sunlight, resulting in a terrain impact and substantial wing damage.

Incident Overview and Pilot Report A pilot reported that he was landing a tailwheel-equipped airplane on a rough and uneven, off-airport site in bright sunlight. Upon landing, the aircraft bounced, and the pilot lost control, leading to an impact with the terrain. The pilot indicated that there were no preaccident anomalies with the airplane. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings. The source does not specify the aircraft type, registration, date, operator, location, or cause of the accident. The investigation details are limited to the pilot's report and the observed damage to the wings.

Contributing factors

Causes

Pilot

Other contributing factors

Effect on operationContributed to outcome