- Date
- December 1, 2002, 15:30 local (19:30 UTC)
- Place
- Chenega Bay, AK
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N7002ZPiper PA-18-150
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 25, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- Parties
- Anchorage FSDO-03
- FAA report
- 20021201035129A
- Case key
- 56185
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 selection of unsuitable terrain for landing and his failure to maintain obstacle clearance which resulted in the airplane colliding with a tree and a berm.
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 the airplane was parked on a remote beach on an Island. He noticed an approaching storm, and decided to reposition the airplane on a logging road away from the beach. During the landing roll on the logging road, the right wing struck a tree, and as the airplane turned sharply to the right, the left main landing gear struck a berm and collapsed, allowing the left wing to impact the ground. The airplane sustained damage to both wings, the left landing gear and propeller.
Factual narrative
On December 1, 2002, about 1530 Alaska standard time, a Piper PA-18-150 airplane, N7002Z, sustained substantial damage when it collided with a tree during the landing roll on a logging road, about 20 statute miles southeast of Chenega Bay, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) personal flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. The solo airline transport pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed.
During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) on December 9, the pilot said the accident airplane was parked on a beach in San Juan Bay, Montague Island, Alaska, when he noticed an approaching storm. The pilot said he decided to reposition the airplane on a logging road away from the beach. During the landing roll on the logging road, the right wing struck a tree, and as the airplane turned sharply to the right, the left main landing gear struck a berm and collapsed, allowing the left wing to impact the ground. The airplane sustained damage to both wings, the left landing gear, and propeller.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7002Z
- Reported as
- Piper PA-18-150
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18-1881
- Airframe hours
- 2,838
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-C2C, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Carroll J. Campbell
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 26, 2002 · 14 hours before
- Departed
- San Juan Bay, 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
- 35
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Private, Commercial, Flight engineer, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- July 13, 2002
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 4,130 total · 480 in this make and model · 2,080 as pilot in command · 240 in the last 90 days · 80 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 135° at 5 knots, gusting 10
- Visibility
- 3 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 2,500 ft broken
- 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.