No fatalities

PIPER PA-18-150 accident at St Mary's, AK, 14 Sept 2025

St Mary's, AK, United States

On September 14, 2025, a PIPER PA-18-150 was involved in an aviation accident near St Mary's, AK. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot’s improper decision to takeoff with a tailwind, from a short off-airport strip, which degraded the climb performance of the airplane and led to impact with trees at the end of the strip. 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

Probable cause

The pilot’s improper decision to takeoff with a tailwind, from a short off-airport strip, which degraded the climb performance of the airplane and led to impact with trees at the end of the strip.

— NTSB Determination

Contributing factors

PilotCapability exceededEffect on operation