- Date
- February 8, 2000, 13:00 local (17:00 UTC)
- Place
- Glennallen, AK
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N4961ACessna 180
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 9, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 20000208042029A
- Case key
- 48735
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's selection of an unsuitable landing site on a frozen, snow-covered lake. A factor associated with the accident was an area of drifted snow at the landing site.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilot reported he was landing his ski-equipped airplane on a frozen, snow-covered lake to await improved weather conditions. During the landing roll, he said he did not see an area of drifted snow. The left main landing gear ski encountered the snow drift, and the airplane turned to the left and nosed over, sustaining substantial damage.
Factual narrative
On February 8, 2000, about 1300 Alaska standard time, a ski-equipped Cessna 180 airplane, N4961A, sustained substantial damage while landing at Caribou Lake, about 30 miles west-southwest of Glennallen, Alaska. The solo commercial pilot was not injured. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight departed Nabesna, Alaska, about 1130, and was en route to Anchorage, Alaska. The flight operated in visual meteorological conditions without a formal flight plan.
During a telephone conversation with the NTSB investigator-in-charge (IIC) about 45 minutes after the accident, the pilot related he made an intermediate stop at Caribou Lake to wait out deteriorating weather conditions. During the landing roll, the left main landing gear ski encountered deep, drifted snow, and the airplane turned to the left, nosed over, and received substantial damage to the left wing, vertical stabilizer, and rudder. The pilot reported there were no preaccident mechanical problems with the airplane, and that he just didn't see the drifted snow in time to avoid it.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4961A
- Reported as
- Cessna 180
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 32358
- Airframe hours
- 6,576
- Engine
- Continental O-470-K, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Wendell K. Ellis
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 2, 2000 · 3 hours before
- Departed
- 75Z · Nabesna, AK
- Destination
- MRI · Anchorage, AK
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 42
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 5,500 total · 502 in this make and model · 5,385 as pilot in command · 20 in the last 90 days · 15 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 1,500 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 25 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N4961A · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.