- Date
- August 30, 2003, 13:30 local (21:30 UTC)
- Place
- Seward, AK
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N1293DCessna 170
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 2, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- Parties
- FAA-AL-ANC FSDO 03
- FAA report
- 20030830036949A
- Case key
- 57823
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 which resulted in a nose over during the landing roll. A factor contribuiting to the accident was the presence of soft sand.
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 certificated pilot was landing a tundra tire-equipped airplane on the beach of a remote island. The pilot reported that he landed to the southwest, and during the landing roll, the tires encountered soft sand. The airplane nosed over about 350 to 400 feet after touchdown, and received structural damage to the vertical stabilizer and the rudder.
Factual narrative
On August 30, 2003, about 1330 Alaska daylight time, a tundra tire-equipped Cessna 170 airplane, N1293D, sustained substantial damage when it nosed over during the landing roll on a beach on Montague Island, about 60 miles east of Seward, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) cross-country personal flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. The airplane was operated by the pilot. The commercial certificated pilot, and the sole passenger, were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight originated at the Girdwood Airport, Girdwood, Alaska, about 1200. No flight plan was filed, nor was one required.
During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), on September 2, the pilot reported that he was landing on the beach at Patton Bay on the east side of Montague Island. He said he landed to the southwest, and during the landing roll, the tires encountered soft sand. The airplane nosed over about 350 to 400 feet after touchdown, and received structural damage to the vertical stabilizer and the rudder.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1293D
- Reported as
- Cessna 170
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 19869
- Airframe hours
- 3,800
- Engine
- Continental A-300, 145 hp, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Marcus F. Wisdorf
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 1, 2003 · 70 hours before
- Departed
- AQY · Girdwood, AK
- Destination
- Seward, 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
- 43
- Injuries
- None
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- August 18, 2002
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 3,100 total · 330 in this make and model · 3,000 as pilot in command · 70 in the last 90 days · 16 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 55 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.