- Date
- April 18, 2003, 19:45 local (Apr 19, 2003, 03:45 UTC)
- Place
- Dillingham, AK
- NTSB coordinates
- 58.3333, -158.5000, outside the stated state
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N3651NPiper PA-12
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 25, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20030418007189A
- Case key
- 56848
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 while taxiing for takeoff, which resulted in a loss of control and an on ground encounter with ocean water. A factor associated with the accident was a gusty wind condition.
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 private pilot was preparing to depart in a tundra-tire equipped airplane from a remote beach site adjacent to open ocean waters. While taxiing for takeoff, a strong gust of wind pivoted the airplane's nose to the left, downhill and towards the ocean surf. The pilot said that he was unable to stop the airplane before the main wheels entered the ocean surf. The airplane subsequently nosed over and sank in the shallow ocean surf waters. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane.
Factual narrative
On April 18, 2003, about 1945 Alaska daylight time, a tundra tire-equipped Piper PA-12 airplane, N3651N, sustained substantial damage when it nosed over after encountering ocean waters while taxiing for takeoff on a beach, about 50 miles south of Dillingham, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) cross-country personal flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, and was en route to Dillingham when the accident occurred. The private pilot/airplane owner and the one passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a VFR flight plan was filed. The flight originated at the accident site, about 1940.
During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge on April 19, the pilot reported that he was preparing to depart from a remote beach site, adjacent to the open ocean waters of Norton Sound. He said that while taxiing for takeoff, a very strong gust of wind pivoted the airplane's nose to the left, downhill and towards the ocean surf. The pilot said that he was unable to stop the airplane before the main wheels entered the ocean surf. The airplane subsequently nosed over and sank in the shallow ocean surf waters. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing.
The pilot reported that wind conditions at the time of the accident were from the northwest at 15 knots, with gusts to 20 knots. The pilot added that there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3651N
- Reported as
- Piper PA-12
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 12-1902
- Airframe hours
- 3,979
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Brooks M. Hurley
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 22, 2003
- Departed
- DLG · Dillingham, AK
- Destination
- DLG · Dillingham, AK
- Flight plan
- VFR
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
- 51
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 298 total · 132 in this make and model · 197 as pilot in command · 17 in the last 90 days · 13 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 15 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility
- 25 statute miles
- 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.
Other investigations on N3651N · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.