# Accident 19980628030069A: Piper PA18150, Big Creek, ID, June 28, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: June 28, 1998, 11:00 local time
- Place: Big Creek, ID
- Airport: Big Creek Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Forced/Precautionary Landing
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 44.5908° N, 115.5703° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=44.5908&lon=-115.5703&mi=10
- Aircraft: N44536 (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA18150
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 507 total, 16 in this make and model, 18 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB SEA98LA113](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA98LA113) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980628030069A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(.4)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. (-23) ON JUNE 28, 1998, APPROXIMATELY 1100 MST, A PIPER PA-18, N44536, IMPACTED THE TERRAIN SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF FROM BIG CREEK AIRPORT, BIG CREEK, ID. THE PRIVATE PILOT, JEFFREY MILLER, WAS THE SOLE OCCUPANT OF THE AIRCRAFT              . MR. MILLER RECEIVED SERIOUS INJURIES. THE AIRCRAFT WHICH WAS OWNED AND OPERATED BY MR. MILLER, SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. THE 14 CFR PART 91 PERSONAL PLEASURE FLIGHT, WHICH DEPARTED THE AIRPORT EN ROUTE TO CALDWELL, ID (EUL), LESS THAN A MINUTE BEFORE THE ACCIDENT, WAS BEING OPERATED IN VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS. THERE WAS NO FLIGHT PLAN FILED AND THE ELT, WHICH WAS ACTIVATED BY THE IMPACT, WAS TURNED OFF AT THE SCENE. THE AIRCRAFT, N44536, WAS INVOLVED IN A GROUND INCIDENT WITH ANOTHER AIRCRAFT, N3898V, ABOUT TWO HOURS PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT. THE PILOT OF N3898V, A CE-195, WAS MANEUVERING TO PARK NEXT TO N44536 AND INADVERTENTLY DRAGGED HIS LEFT WING TIP OVER THE RIGHT WING TIP OF N44536. THIS CAUSED A RIP IN THE FABRIC AND BROKE OR BENT AT LEAST TWO OUTBOARD RIBS IN THE WING OF N44536. THE PILOT OF N44536 REPAIRED THE DAMAGE WITH DUCT-TAPE AND DENTAL FLOSS. ACCORDING TO WITNESSES, ALMOST IMMEDIATELY AFTER N44536 LIFTED OFF, THE PILOT EXECUTED A SLIGHT TURN TO THE RIGHT. AFTER THAT TURN REACHED ABOUT 70 TO 80 DEGREES FROM THE RUNWAY HEADING (010) AND WAS ABOUT 40 TO 50 ABOVE THE RUNWAY, THE PILOT STARTED A TURN TO THE LEFT. WITNESSES STATE THAT IT APPEARED THAT MR. MILLER WAS ATTEMPTING TO MAKE 180 DEGREE TURN BACK OVER THE RUNWAY. WITNESSES ALSO STATE THE AIRCRAFT WAS ABOUT 100 FEET ABOVE THE RUNWAY AND AT MINIMUM AIRSPEED WHEN THE AIRCRAFT YAWED VIOLENTLY AND THE NOSE PITCHED DOWN. THE AIRCRAFT THEN IMPACTED THE GROUND.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB SEA98LA113](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA98LA113), Jun 28, 1998: Piper PA-18 (N44536), Big Creek, ID, substantial damage. Probable cause: 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.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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