- Date
- September 10, 2000, 21:00 local (Sep 11, 2000, 05:00 UTC)
- Place
- Sparrevohn, AK
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N82905Piper PA-18
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Not reported
- Status
- Completed · report July 2, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 20000910042619A
- Case key
- 50283
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 stall/mush during the final approach to land. Factors associated with the accident are the pilot's misjudged flare, and the rough and uneven terrain.
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 commercial pilot was landing the tailwheel-equipped airplane on a remote off-airport landing site. While on short final for the intended landing site, the pilot said the airplane had a sudden loss of lift. The airplane subsequently touched down hard, on rough uneven terrain, and nosed over. The pilot reported that he had not experienced any mechanical difficulties or failures with the airplane that may have contributed to the accident.
Factual narrative
On September 11, 2000, about 2000 Alaska daylight time, a tundra-tire-equipped Piper PA-18, N82905, sustained substantial damage while landing at a remote, off-airport landing site, 15 miles south-southwest of Sleetmute, Alaska, at 61 degrees, 26 minutes north latitude, 157 degrees, 20 minutes west longitude. The airplane is registered to and operated by Alaskan Adventures, of Rocklin, California, and was being operated under the provisions of Title 14, CFR Part 91, in support of a hunting-guide service. The commercial pilot, the sole occupant of the airplane, sustained minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a company flight plan was activated. The flight originated from another remote site about 1945.
During a telephone interview with an NTSB investigator on January 22, 2001, the pilot reported that while on short final for the intended landing site, at an altitude of approximately 10-15 feet above ground level, the airplane had a sudden loss of lift. The airplane subsequently bounced, landed hard in a nose low attitude, and nosed over. The pilot stated that the airplane touched down on uneven sloping terrain, 15 to 25 feet right of his intended touchdown point.
The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing lift strut and vertical stabilizer.
The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical difficulties or failures with the airplane that may of contributed to the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N82905
- Reported as
- Piper PA-18
- Category
- Airplane
- Engine
- unknown
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Fire
- Unknown
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Operator
- Rocky Mcelveen, doing business as Alaskan Adventures
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
- Medical
- Unknown, Unknown
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Not reported
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 700 ft overcast
- Observed at
- PAS
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 N82905 · 3
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.