# Incident 20230129001269I: Piper PA-20, Birchwood, AK, January 29, 2023

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 29, 2023, 14:30 local time
- Place: Birchwood, AK
- Airport: Birchwood
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Landing: Touchdown
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 61.4161° N, 149.5083° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at BIRCHWOOD (BCV), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=61.4161&lon=-149.5083&mi=10
- Aircraft: N1544A, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N1544A) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-20 (registry code 7102002, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-20) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-290 series (registry code 41506, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-290-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA-20
- Reported engine: LYCOMING 0-290 SERIES
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 420 total, 212 in this make and model, 8 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20230129001269I

## Narrative

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

THE PILOT STATED THAT HE HAD NOT ORIGINALLY PLANNED TO LAND AT BIRCHWOOD AIRPORT, BUT HE SAW THE WEATHER CONDITIONS THERE LOOKED VFR.  HE WAS ATTEMPTING TO LAND AT BIRCHWOOD AIRPORT AND MISJUDGED THE AIRCRAFT HEIGHT ABOVE THE SURFACE DUE TO LIGHTING CONDITIONS COMBINED WITH SNOW AND SKY CONDITIONS CREATING "FLAT LIGHT."  THE PILOT STATED HE TOUCHED DOWN HARD ON THE RUNWAY AND OVER APPLIED THE BRAKES CAUSING THE AIRCRAFT TO TIP FORWARD AND STRIKE THE PROPELLER AND ENGINE COWL ON THE GROUND.  HE SHUT DOWN ALL AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS AND EXITED THE AIRCRAFT.  DAMAGE TO THE AIRCRAFT WAS MINOR AND LIMITED TO THE PROPELLER, PROPELLER SPINNER, ENGINE COWL, AND LANDING GEAR.  WHILE ATTEMPTING TO PUSH THE AIRCRAFT OFF OF THE RUNWAY, ASI ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ SAW HIM FROM THE RAMP AREA AND OFFERED TO ASSIST HIM IN MOVING THE AIRCRAFT.  THE PILOT STATED THAT HE WOULD HAVE NORMALLY PERFORMED A GO-AROUND, BUT ALTHOUGH THE AIRPORT WAS VFR AT THE TIME, THERE WAS LESS THAN VFR CONDITIONS JUST BEYOND THE DEPARTURE END OF THE RUNWAY.  PILOT WAS COUNSELED ON AERONAUTICAL DECISION MAKING WITH EMPHASIS ON CONSIDERING ALL FACTORS OF AN AIRPORT ENVIRONMENT BEFORE COMMITTING TO A LANDING, TO INCLUDE OPTIONS IF APPROACH AND LANDING CAN'T BE CONTINUED.

## Other reports on N1544A (1)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Accident 20090905016389A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20090905016389A), Sep 5, 2009: Piper PA20 (N1544A), Bozeman, MT, Substantial damage. (-23) On September 05, 2009, at 1320 local time, a Piper PA-20, N1544A, registered to [privacy data omitted], ground looped on takeoff at the kbzn (Bozeman…

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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