- Date
- July 31, 2002, 16:00 local (Aug 1, 2002, 00:00 UTC)
- Place
- Chugiak, AK
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N4948Piper PA-18
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 30, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20020731018339A
- Case key
- 55405
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 inadequate compensation for wind conditions and his failure to maintain directional control during an aborted landing, which resulted in an in-flight collision with a culvert. A factor associated with the accident was a wind gust.
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 airline transport pilot reported that while on approach for landing on runway 19L, he encountered what he characterized as light and variable winds estimated to be from the south, at 5 knots. He said that just after touchdown, a sudden gust of wind pushed the tail of the airplane to the left, and the airplane veered to the right. The pilot said that he applied full engine power in an attempt to abort the landing. The airplane became airborne, and while in ground effect, the airplane drifted to the right side of the runway. The right main landing gear subsequently struck a culvert on the right side of the runway. The airplane pivoted to the right, and the left wing struck the ground. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings and the fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident anomalies with the airplane.
Factual narrative
On July 31, 2002, about 1600 Alaska daylight time, a tundra-tire equipped PA-18 airplane, N4948, sustained substantial damage when it collided with a culvert during an aborted landing at the Birchwood Airport, Chugiak, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) local area personal flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. The certificated airline transport pilot, and the one passenger, were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated about 1500, from the Merrill Field Airport, Anchorage, Alaska.
During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge on August 1, the pilot reported that while on approach for landing on runway 19L, he encountered what he characterized as light and variable winds estimated to be from the south, at 5 knots. He said that just after touchdown, a sudden gust of wind pushed the tail of the airplane to the left, and the airplane veered to the right. The pilot said that he applied full engine power in an attempt to abort the landing. The airplane became airborne, and while in ground effect, the airplane drifted to the right side of the runway. The right main landing gear struck a culvert on the right side of the runway. The airplane pivoted to the right, and the left wing struck the ground. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings and the fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident anomalies with the airplane.
The pilot did not submit an NTSB Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120. 1).
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4948
- Reported as
- Piper PA-18
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18-8745
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Brett E. Anderson
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- MRL · Anchorage, AK
- Destination
- BCV · Chugiak, AK
- Airport
- PABV · Birchwood, runway 19L, 2,200 × 50 ft, gravel
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
- 43
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 8,000 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 16, 2003, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 8 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.