# Accident 20140702010579A: Piper PA-12, Anchorage, AK, July 2, 2014 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: July 2, 2014, 08:20 local time - Place: Anchorage, AK - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Takeoff: Rotation - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 61.2144° N, 149.8503° W: From the FAA - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=61.2144&lon=-149.8503&mi=10 - Aircraft: N3512M, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N3512M) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Piper PA-12 (registry code 7101202, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-12) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Lycoming 0-235 series (registry code 41505, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-235-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA-12 - Reported engine: LYCOMING 0-235 SERIES - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 1 - Other injuries: 0 - Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot - NTSB investigation: [NTSB ANC14FA050](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC14FA050) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20140702010579A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. AIRCRAFT ATTEMPTED TAKEOFF FROM RUNWAY 25 AT K INTERSECTION, GAINED APPROXIMATELY 100-150' IN A STEEP NOSE-UP PITCH ATTITUDE, THEN ABRUPTLY PITCHED OVER AND IMPACTED TERRAIN APPROXIMATELY 30-40' TO THE RIGHT OF RUNWAY 25, EVEN WITH THE BEGINNING OF THE 1000' MARKINGS. AIRCRAFT IMPACTED IN A VERTICAL ATTITUDE, 90 DEGREES TO THE GROUND. THE AIRCRAFT WAS FOUND INVERTED, CONSISTENT WITH IMPACTING AT 90 DEGREES AND FALLING BACKWARDS ONTO THE TAIL. THE ENGINE AND SPINNER WERE PUSHED BACK TO APPROXIMATELY THE FORWARD STRUT OF THE LANDING GEAR FROM IMPACT FORCES. THE IMPACT AND SUBSEQUENT ENGINE DISPLACEMENT LIKELY CAUSED THE FATALITY. A GROUND SCAR WAS OBSERVED WHERE THE PROPELLER IMPACTED INTO THE DIRT. THE GROUND SCAR DID NOT SHOW SIGNS OF THE PROPELLER TURNING, IT APPEARED TO BE STOPPED OR ABRUPTLY STOPPED AT IMPACT, BUT THERE WERE SOME SCRATCHES ON THE PROPELLER INDICATING IT WAS TURNING TO SOME EXTENT AT IMPACT. THE WINGS SHOWED IMPACT SIGNS CONSISTENT WITH A FRONTAL-IMPACT AND THE 90 DEGREE IMPACT ANGLE. WITNESSES REPORTED THAT THE AIRCRAFT TOOK OFF AND THE FLIGHT PATH GRADUALLY GOT STEEPER, WITH A CFI WITNESS REPORTING IT LOOKED LIKE A 60 DEGREE NOSE-UP ATTITUDE, "HANGING ON THE PROP". OTHER WITNESSES SAID THAT BASED ON THE ATTITUDE, RATE OF PITCH AND FORWARD SPEED, THEY KNEW THERE WAS GOING TO BE AN ACCIDENT BEFORE THEY SAW THE AIRCRAFT PITCH OVER. WITNESSES REPORTED THE AIRCRAFT PITCHED OVER, WINGS REMAINED LEVEL, AND THE AIRCRAFT DROPPED FROM THE APEX, STARTING AT ABOUT 100-150' OF ALTITUDE. SOME WITNESSES REPORTING A "POPPING" NOISE PRIOR TO SEEING IT PITCH OVER, WHILE OTHERS REPORTED A DECREASE IN ENGINE NOISE AFTER IT PITCHED TOWARDS THE GROUND. WITNESSES ALSO REPORTED THAT THEY BELIEVED THE AIRCRAFT HAD BEEN REBUILT BY THE PIC OVER THE COURSE OF THE LAST 4-5 YEARS AND THE ACCIDENT FLIGHT WAS THE FIRST FLIGHT/TEST FLIGHT SINCE BEING REBUILT. SUBSEQUENT INVESTIGATION OF THE WRECKAGE DETERMINED THE ELEVATOR FLIGHT CONTROLS WERE CONNECTED IN REVERSE AT THE REAR ELEVATOR HORN, CAUSING FORWARD-STICK INPUTS TO DEFLECT THE ELEVATOR UP. THIS IS CONSISTENT WITH WITNESS STATEMENTS THAT DESCRIBE THE FLIGHT PATH AS CONTINUALLY STEEPENING UNTIL THE POINT OF STALL/PITCH OVER. A CHECKLIST WAS FOUND WITH THE WRECKAGE, OPENED TO THE "BEFORE TAKE-OFF" PAGE. THE CHECKLIST SAID "FLIGHT CONTROLS - FREE AND CORRECT". THE PROBABLE CAUSES FOR THE ACCIDENT ARE THE PIC'S MISS-RIGGING OF THE ELEVATOR CONTROL CABLES AND FAILURE TO ACCOMPLISH THE BEFORE-TAKEOFF CHECKLIST. ## 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 ANC14FA050](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC14FA050), Jul 2, 2014: Piper PA 12 (N3512M), Anchorage, AK, substantial damage, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The incorrect (reverse) rigging of the elevator control cables, and the pilot’s inadequate preflight inspection, which failed to detect the misrigging. 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.