- Date
- September 4, 2000, 21:00 local (Sep 5, 2000, 05:00 UTC)
- Place
- Ruby, AK
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N3774ZPiper PA-18
- Weather
- Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 18, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 20000904009009A
- Case key
- 50988
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 inadvertent ground loop/swerve during the landing roll.
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 said he made a wheel landing on an off-airport gravel bar, and during rollout, the airplane's nose swerved to the right. He said when he applied the booster brakes, the nose continued to the right, and the airplane ground looped. The pilot wrote in his report to the NTSB that he didn't know if there was a mechanical problem with the airplane, but that the right brake 'may' have locked up. According to the airplane owner, the pilot was landing on a 1,500 feet long by 100 feet wide gravel bar, and attempted to stop the airplane quickly to make a short turnoff. The winds were calm at the time of the accident. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings, and the empennage.
Factual narrative
On September 4, 2000, about 2100 Alaska daylight time, a Piper PA-18 tundra tire equipped airplane, N3774Z, sustained substantial damage when it ground looped during landing on an off airport gravel bar on the Malozitna River, Alaska, at 65 degrees, 27.06 minutes north latitude, 154 degrees, 29.06 minutes west longitude, about 60 miles north of Ruby, Alaska. The solo commercial pilot was not injured. The flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91, as a hunter guide business flight. The weather at the time of the accident was clear, with calm winds, and no flight plan was filed. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings, and the empennage.
According to the pilot, he performed a wheel landing, and the airplane's nose swerved to the right. He said when he applied the booster brakes, the nose continued to the right, and the airplane ground looped. The pilot stated he believed the right brake locked up. According to the airplane owner, the pilot was landing on a 1,500 feet long by 100 feet wide gravel bar, and attempted to stop the airplane quickly to make a short turnoff.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3774Z
- Reported as
- Piper PA-18
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18-07454
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Operator
- Gary S. Munoz
- Registered owner
- Kurt Lepping
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
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
- 48
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 884 total · 573 in this make and model · 820 as pilot in command · 28 in the last 90 days · 28 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 40 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 39 °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 N3774Z · 3
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.