- Date
- September 16, 2003, 16:30 local (Sep 17, 2003, 00:30 UTC)
- Place
- Ninilchick, AK
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N6978BPiper PA-18
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 28, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- Parties
- FAA-AL-ANC FSDO 03
- FAA report
- 20030916025509A
- Case key
- 57949
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 failure to maintain control of the airplane which resulted in a collision with terrain during an approach to landing on a ridgeline. Factors contributing to the accident were the pilot's inadequate evaluation of the wind conditions, and an unfavorable wind along the ridgeline.
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 certificated pilot was making a landing approach to a ridgeline that was oriented east/west, and was about 1,000 feet long and 30 to 100 feet wide. The pilot said he was landing toward the east. He described the wind as 10 to 15 knots from the southeast. As he approached the ground, the pilot said a burble of wind over the ridge lifted the right wing. The airplane collided with the ridge, and then nosed over. The airplane received damage to the wings, fuselage, and landing gear.
Factual narrative
On September 16, 2003, about 1630 Alaska daylight time, a tundra tire-equipped Piper PA-18 airplane, N6978B, sustained substantial damage when it collided with the ground during the final landing approach to a remote ridgeline, about 15 miles east of Ninilchick, 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 private certificated pilot, the sole occupant, received minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight originated at Merrill Field, Anchorage, Alaska, about 1530. 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 17, the pilot reported that he was making an approach to a ridgeline that was oriented east/west, and was about 1,000 feet long, and 30 to 100 feet wide. The pilot said he was landing toward the east. He described the wind as 10 to 15 knots from the southeast. As he approached the ground, the pilot said a burble of wind over the ridge lifted the right wing. The airplane collided with the ridge, and then nosed over. The airplane received damage to the wings, fuselage, and landing gear.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6978B
- Reported as
- Piper PA-18
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18-5100
- Airframe hours
- 4,692
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Jerold L. Vantrease
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 26, 2003 · 70 hours before
- Departed
- PAMR · Anchorage, AK
- Destination
- PAHO · Homer, 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
- 46
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Expired
- Last flight review
- April 11, 2001
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 710 total · 697 in this make and model · 648 as pilot in command · 45 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 160° at 10 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 50 °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 N6978B · 3
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.