- Date
- October 28, 2000, 13:30 local (21:30 UTC)
- Place
- Juneau, AK
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N96920Taylorcraft BC12-D
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 10, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 20001028042679A
- Case key
- 51017
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 failure to refuel the airplane, and his inadequate preflight planning/preparation. A factor associated with the accident was the pilot's selection of an unsuitable landing area.
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 certificated private pilot reported that after recently installing a new propeller, he elected to take the airplane on a short test flight. He said that as he was returning to his departure airport, he thought he was running low on fuel, so he decided to make a precautionary landing on the highway, and refuel with a can of gas he was carrying. During the landing roll, the left wing collided with a road sign. The airplane pivoted to the left, went off the left side of the road, and down an embankment. The pilot said that there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane.
Factual narrative
On October 28, 2000, about 1330 Alaska daylight time, a tundra tire equipped Taylorcraft BC12-D airplane, N96920, sustained substantial damage during a precautionary landing on the North Douglas Highway, about 3 miles south of Juneau, Alaska, at 58 degrees, 20 minutes north latitude, 134 degrees, 31 minutes west longitude. The solo private pilot was not injured. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) personal flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated about 1300, from the Juneau International Airport, Juneau.
During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge on October 31, the pilot reported that after recently installing a new propeller, he elected to take the airplane on a short test flight. He said that as he was returning to the Juneau Airport, he thought he was running low on fuel, so he decided to make a precautionary landing on the highway, and refuel with a can of gas he was carrying in the airplane. He stated that during the landing roll, the left wing collided with a road sign. The airplane pivoted to the left, went off the left side of the road, and down an embankment. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings and fuselage.
The pilot said that there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N96920
- Reported as
- Taylorcraft BC12-D
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 9220
- Airframe hours
- 2,611
- Engine
- Continental A-65, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Larry W. Gregg
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 10, 2000 · 100 hours before
- Departed
- JNU · Juneau, 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
- 53
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,033 total · 1,400 in this make and model · 1,950 as pilot in command · 100 in the last 90 days · 50 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 20 knots, gusting 25
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 4,000 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.