# Accident 20230115000589A: Piper PA-12, Anchorage, AK, January 15, 2023

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 15, 2023, 11:00 local time
- Place: Anchorage, AK
- Airport: Campbell Lake Seaplane Base
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Landing: Touchdown
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 61.1331° N, 149.9420° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at Campbell Lake Seaplane Base (0A1), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=61.1331&lon=-149.9420&mi=10
- Aircraft: N3904M, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N3904M) (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: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 265 total, 175 in this make and model, 9 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20230115000589A

## Narrative

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

ON 1/16/2023 ON RETURN FROM A PERSONAL FLIGHT THE ACCIDENT PILOT ATTEMPTED A LANDING ON A SNOW COVERED RUNWAY. PILOT STATED HE WAS UNAWARE OF THE DEPTH OF THE SNOW. ON LANDING THE AIRCRAFT ENCOUNTERED DEEP SNOW WHICH CAUSED THE MAIN WHEELS TO SINK. THE AIRCRAFT SHIFTED FORWARD AS THE TIRES WENT DEEPER INTO THE SNOW. THE FORWARD INERTIA CAUSED THE AIRCRAFT TO FLIP INVERTED BEFORE COMING TO A STOP. NO INJURIES.

## NTSB investigation

None matched to this report by aircraft and date. Search the NTSB's own records: https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-main-public/basic-search

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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