# NTSB ANC00LA049: Piper PA-18, N1200A, Mccarthy, AK, April 23, 2000 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: April 22, 2000, 17:30 local (Apr 23, 2000, 01:30 UTC) - Place: Mccarthy, AK - Coordinates: 55.920761, -159.490463 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=55.9208&lon=-159.4905&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Taxi](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/250) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report May 17, 2001 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - NTSB case key (mKey): 49045 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC00LA049 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/49045/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC00LA049 ## Probable cause The pilot's inadequate compensation for the gusty wind conditions. A factor associated with the accident was the wind gusts. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - On ground/water encounter with weather, taxi - from landing - weather condition - gusts (contributing factor) - Nose over, taxi - from landing - compensation for wind conditions - inadequate, pilot in command (cause) ## Analysis The pilot reported she landed her tailwheel airplane in gusty wind conditions. After landing, while turning the airplane in search of a parking site, she said a gust of wind picked the tail of the airplane off the ground, and the airplane nosed over. ## Factual narrative On April 22, 2000, about 1730 Alaska daylight time, a tailwheel equipped Piper PA-18 airplane, N1200A, sustained substantial damage while taxiing after landing at the McCarthy Number 2 Airport (North latitude 61 degrees, 26 minutes; West longitude 142 degrees, 54 minutes), McCarthy, Alaska. The commercial pilot and the sole passenger were not injured. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight originated at Merrill Field, Anchorage, Alaska, about 1330, and the destination was McCarthy. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a company flight plan was filed. The airplane was owned and operated by Wrangell Mountain Air, Inc., Glennallen, Alaska. The owner of the company reported the accident to the NTSB on April 25, 2000. He related his wife was the pilot, and that she and their daughter were returning from Anchorage. After landing at McCarthy, he said his wife was looking for a place to park the airplane, and had initiated a sharp turn toward the ramp, when a gust of wind turned the airplane inverted. The owner said the wind at the time of the accident was from the south at 20 knots, gusting to 30 knots. An unsigned NTSB Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report received by the NTSB investigator-in-charge on May 12, contained essentially the same information as given by the company owner. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N1200A](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N1200A), registered now, S/N 18-1200, built 1951 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Piper PA-18 - Registry model: [Piper PA-18](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-18) (registry code 7101802) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-290 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-290-series) (registry code 41506, 4 cycle) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 1200 - Airframe hours: 6600 - Engines: Lycoming O-320B2B 160 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Wrangel Mountain Air - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: 100 hour, April 21, 2000, 3 hours before - Departed: MRI, ANCHORAGE, AK - Flight plan: VFR - Airport: 15Z, Mccarthy Number 2, runway 1, 3,500 × 60 ft, gravel ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 46; commercial, flight instructor; airplane ratings: single-engine sea, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; seat: front; flight hours: 6,335 total, 340 in this make and model, 6,185 as pilot in command, 18 in the last 90 days, 13 in the last 30 days, 3 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 180° at 20 knots, gusting 30 - Visibility: 20 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 5,000 ft overcast - Temperature: 45 °F ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20000422042109A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20000422042109A), Apr 22, 2000: Piper PA18, Mccarthy, AK, Substantial damage. (-23) According to the pilot, the wind was strong and gusty at the time of the accident. After landing, the pilot taxied to the tie-down area and proceeded to… ## Other investigations on N1200A (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 ANC93LA141](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC93LA141), Aug 9, 1993: Piper PA-18 (N1200A), Bernard Glacier, AK, substantial damage. Probable cause: IMPROPER PLANNING/DECISION BY THE PILOT, CONCERNING THE LANDING AT THE REMOTE STRIP, WHICH RESULTED IN A NOSE OVER, WHILE USING HEAVY BRAKES TO STOP. A FACTOR RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WAS: THE… 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. --- 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.