20121020023449A

Accident · Substantial damage

FAA accident report · Piper PA-18-125 · Cordova, AK · October 20, 2012

Date
October 20, 2012 · 14:30 local
Place
Cordova, AK
Phase of flight
Takeoff: Departure Roll
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage
Substantial damage
Aircraft
N3360P
NTSB investigation
NTSBANC13CA006
Reported as
Piper PA-18-125
Reported engine
Lycoming 0-290 series
People aboard
1
Fatal injuries
0
Other injuries
0
Pilot’s certificate
Private pilot
Pilot’s flight hours
5,608 total442 in this make and model20 in the last 90 days

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry 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.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

The pilot lined up with the small dirt strip, on roll out the sun blocked some of the visibility through the windscreen. At 400 feet down the strip the right wing tip contacted an alder brush which forced the aircraft to ground loop. The aircraft swung around to the left and the left wing tip contacted the brush.

As the FAA filed it

THE PILOT LINED UP WITH THE SMALL DIRT STRIP, ON ROLL OUT THE SUN BLOCKED SOME OF THE VISIBILITY THROUGH THE WINDSCREEN. AT 400 FEET DOWN THE STRIP THE RIGHT WING TIP CONTACTED AN ALDER BRUSH WHICH FORCED THE AIRCRAFT TO GROUND LOOP. THE AIRCRAFT SWUNG AROUND TO THE LEFT AND THE LEFT WING TIP CONTACTED THE BRUSH.

NTSB investigation

The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.