# Accident 19990905025409A: Piper PA18, Kenai, AK, September 5, 1999

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 5, 1999, 09:45 local time
- Place: Kenai, AK
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Unauth Low Level Opns
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 60.6607° N, 150.8997° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=60.6607&lon=-150.8997&mi=10
- Aircraft: N3903Z, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N3903Z) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-18-150 (registry code 7101828, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-18-150) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-320 series (registry code 41508, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA18
- Reported engine: LYC O320A2B
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Student
- Pilot flight hours: 116 total, 89 in this make and model, 26 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ANC99LA133](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC99LA133) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990905025409A

## Narrative

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

(.19) ON SEPTEMBER 5, 1999, ABOUT 1030 ALASKA DAYLIGHT TIME, A PIPER-18 AIRPLANE, N3903Z, SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE WHEN IT COLLIDED WITH TREES DURING AN UNCONTROLLED DESCENT AFTER AN IN-FLIGHT LOSS OF CONTROL WHILE MANEUVERING ABOUT 200 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND (AGL). THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED AT 60 DEGREES 47.68 MINUTES NORTH LATITUDE, 152 DEGREES 08.57 MINUTES WEST LONGITUDE, ABOUT 25 MILES WEST OF KENAI, ALASKA.  THE STUDENT PILOT AND THE ONE PASSENGER ON BOARD SUSTAINED MINOR INJURIES.  THE PERSONAL FLIGHT WAS BEING CONDUCTED UNDER 14 CFR PART 91 BY THE AIRPLANE'S OWNER TO VIEW WILDLIFE.  THE FLIGHT DEPARTED FROM AN OFF AIRPORT SITE ABOUT 1000.  VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT, AND NO PLAN WAS FILED.  DURING A TELEPHONE INTERVIEW WITH THE NTSB INVESTIGATOR-IN-CHARGE (IIC) ON SEPTEMBER 6, THE PILOT STATED THAT HE AND HIS WIFE HAD DEPARTED FROM A RELATIVE'S LANDING STRIP NEAR THE ACCIDENT SITE ABOUT 0600 TO SIGHTSEE.  THEY LANDED AT AN OFF AIRPORT SITE FOR A BREAK, THEN TOOK OFF AGAIN ABOUT 1000.  THE PILOT SAID HE WAS CIRCLING ABOUT 200 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND TO VIEW WILDLIFE.  HE INDICATED THAT HE HAD EXTENDED ONE NOTCH OF FLAPS, THE CARBURET OR HEAT WAS OFF, AND THE AIRSPEED WAS ABOUT 60 MILES PER HOUR. HE SAID HE ATTEMPTED TO LIFT THE LEFT WING, THE LEFT WING DROPPED, THE AIRPLANE STALLED, AND THE AIRPLANE CONTACTED THE TREES.  THE PILOT STATED THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE AIRPLANE, AND THAT HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN CIRCLING HIGHER.  THE PILOT AND PASSENGER WALKED TO ANOTHER LANDING STRIP, WHERE THEY WERE PICKED UP BY RELATIVES.                                                       (-23) ON SEPTEMBER 6, 1999, AT 10:30 ALASKA DAYLIGHT TIME, A PIPER PA-18 AIRPLANE, N3903Z, SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE WHEN IT COLLIDED WITH TREES DURING AN UNCONTROLLED DESCENT AFTER AN IN FLIGHT LOSS OF CONTROL. THE STUDENT PILOT STATED THAT HE AND HIS WIFE HAD DEPARTED TO SIGHT SEE. HE STATED THEY WERE FLYING WITH 1 NOTCH OF FLAPS AND SPEED WAS 60 MPH STRAIGHT AND LEVEL. HE INDICATED HE BEGAN TO APPLY POWER, THE LEFT WING SNAPPED OVER AND THE PLANE STALLED.                                                            (.4) THE STUDENT PILOT AND SOLE PASSENGER WERE CIRCLING WILDLIFE ABOUT 200 FEET ABOVE GROUND LEVEL. THE PILOT TOLD THE NTSB INVESTIGATOR-IN-CHARGE HE HAD ONE NOTCH OF FLAPS EXTENDED, THE CARBURETOR HEAT WAS OFF, AND THE AIRSP EED WAS ABOUT 60 MILES PER HOUR. HE SAID HE ATTEMPTED TO RAISE THE LEFT WING, THE WING DROPPED, THE AIRPLANE STALLED, AND THE AIRPLANE CONTACTED THE TREES. HE STATED THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE AIRPLANE, HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN CIRCLING HIGHER, AND THAT HE SHOULD HAVE INCREASED POWER BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO LIFT THE WING.

## 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 ANC99LA133](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC99LA133), Sep 5, 1999: Piper PA-18 (N3903Z), Kenai, AK, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's inadvertent stall. A factor was the intentional low altitude maneuvering by the pilot.

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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