# NTSB ANC03LA116: Cessna 182, N3386U, Skwentna, AK, September 15, 2003 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: September 15, 2003, 14:00 local (22:00 UTC) - Place: Skwentna, AK - Coordinates: 62.083332, -151.508331 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=62.0833&lon=-151.5083&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Serious injuries - Injuries: 1 serious, 2 minor - Status: Completed, report April 28, 2004 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - Parties: FAA-AL-ANC FSDO 03 - NTSB case key (mKey): 57946 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC03LA116 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/57946/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC03LA116 ## Probable cause The pilot's misjudgment of the distance/altitude to the touchdown point during landing, which resulted in an undershoot and collision with a river bank. A factor contributing to the accident was the presence of a river bank that formed the beginning of the runway threshold. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Undershoot, landing - flare/touchdown - distance/altitude - misjudged, pilot in command (cause) - In flight collision with terrain/water, landing - flare/touchdown - terrain condition - dirt bank/rising embankment (contributing factor) - Nose over, landing - flare/touchdown ## Analysis The private certificated pilot was landing at a remote airstrip next to his cabin, which is located next to a river. The airstrip, positioned on a 260/080 degree magnetic orientation, is about 1,100 feet long and 100 feet wide. The threshold of runway 26 begins at the bank of the river. The pilot said that during the landing, the nose wheel struck the lip of the river bank. The airplane then nosed over, and received damage to the wings and fuselage. ## Factual narrative On September 15, 2003, about 1400 Alaska daylight time, a tundra tire-equipped Cessna 182 airplane, N3386U, sustained substantial damage when it collided with a river bank during the landing touchdown at a remote airstrip, about 12 miles north-northwest of Skwentna, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules cross-country personal flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. The airplane was operated by the pilot. The private certificated pilot and one passenger received minor injuries; the remaining passenger received serious injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight originated at Merrill Field, Anchorage, Alaska, about 1315. 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 16, the pilot reported that he was landing on runway 26 at an airstrip next to his cabin, located along the edge of the Yentna River. The airstrip, positioned on a 260/080 degree magnetic orientation, is about 1,100 feet long and 100 feet wide. The threshold of runway 26 begins at the bank of the river. The pilot said that during the landing, the nose wheel struck the lip of the river bank. The airplane then nosed over, and received damage to the wings and fuselage. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N3386U](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N3386U-2012-10-03), registration cancelled 2012-10-03, S/N 18254786, built 1963 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 182 - Registry model: [Cessna 182F](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-182f) (registry code 2072714) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental O-470 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-o-470-series) (registry code 17026, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 18254786 - Airframe hours: 3802 - Engines: Continental O-470 259 hp reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Ronnie D. Sayer - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, April 29, 2003, 80 hours before - Departed: PAMR, Anchorage, AK - Destination: Skwentna, AK - Airport: runway 26, 1,100 × 100 ft, grass/turf ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 62; injuries: minor; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; last flight review May 7, 2002; seat: left; flight hours: 2,800 total, 2,500 in this make and model, 2,700 as pilot in command, 110 in the last 90 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 360° at 10 knots - Visibility: 20 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 52 °F ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20030915036999A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20030915036999A), Sep 15, 2003: Cessna 182F, Skwentna, AK, Substantial damage. (-23) Pilot stated that while on approach to runway 24 he misjudged his altitude and the nosewheel hit the riverbank and the aircraft flipped over. Pilot… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.