# NTSB ANC03LA124: Piper PA-18-150, N1386A, Tanana, AK, September 23, 2003 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: September 23, 2003, 12:00 local (20:00 UTC) - Place: Tanana, AK - Coordinates: 65.583335, -153.300003 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=65.5833&lon=-153.3000&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report March 30, 2004 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - Parties: FAA, Fairbanks Flight Standards District Office - NTSB case key (mKey): 58005 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC03LA124 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/58005/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC03LA124 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during the landing roll, which resulted in an overrun and nose down. Factors contributing to the accident were gusty winds, and restricted aileron control movement. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - on ground/water, landing - roll - weather condition - gusts (contributing factor) - flt control syst,aileron control - restricted (contributing factor) - aircraft control - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - Overrun, landing - aborted - Nose over, landing - aborted - terrain condition - water ## Analysis The pilot reported that he was attempting to land a tailwheel equipped airplane on a gravel bar adjacent to a river. He said there was a 20 knot wind, with gusts to 25 knots. The initial touchdown on the gravel bar was uneventful, but a wind gust lifted the left wing, and the pilot was unable to fully displace the aileron to the left to counteract the wind gust. He said he attempted to abort the landing, but was unable to get the left wing down, and the airplane ran off the end of the gravel bar into the river, nosing down when it encountered the water. The pilot indicated that he was unable to deflect the control stick completely to the left, because the flap handle was in the flaps down position, which kept his left leg from moving to the left, and consequently the control stick was blocked from moving full left travel when it encountered his leg. ## Factual narrative On September 23, 2003, about 1200 Alaska daylight time, a tailwheel-equipped Piper PA-18-150 airplane, N1386A, received substantial damage when it nosed down following a loss of control during an off-airport landing. The accident site was approximately 42 miles northwest of Tanana, Alaska. The solo commercial pilot was not injured. The Title 14, CFR Part 91 business flight was operated by Deltana Outfitters, Inc., in support of a hunt-guide business. The flight departed a remote, private airstrip about 1130, and the destination was the accident site. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local flight. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge on September 25, the pilot of the accident airplane related that the purpose of the flight was to transport moose meat from a gravel bar. The pilot said the surface wind was fairly calm, but there was a 20 knot wind, with gusts to 25 knots, blowing through the trees surrounding the gravel bar, which created significant low level turbulence. He indicated that the airplane touched down on the gravel bar without difficulty, but during the landing roll, a gust of wind lifted the left wing. He elected to abort the landing, and applied full power. He said he was unable to bring the left wing to a level attitude because he could not get full aileron displacement to the left, due to the control stick hitting his left knee. He said when the flap handle was in the down position, it forced his left leg to the right, and consequently restricted movement of the control stick to the left. He was unable to gain full control of the airplane, and reduced engine power to idle. The airplane subsequently went off the end of the gravel bar into shallow water, nosed down, and sustained structural damage to the right wing spar and right aileron. The pilot said there were no preaccident mechanical problems with the airplane. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N1386A](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N1386A), registered now, S/N 18-1219, built 1951 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Piper PA-18-150 - Registry model: [Piper PA-18-125](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-18-125) (registry code 7101812) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-320 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (registry code 41508, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 18-1219 - Engines: Lycoming O-320 150 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Business, Part 91 - Registered owner: Deltana Outfitters, Inc. - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: 100 hour, July 15, 2003 - Departed: Golden Creek, AK - Destination: Tanana, AK ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 360° at 20 knots, gusting 25 - Visibility: 100 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 25 °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 20030923036399A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20030923036399A), Sep 23, 2003: Piper PA18125, Tanana, AK, Substantial damage. (-23) Pilot stated that 20 knot winds and low level turbulence at tree-top level, light winds with occasional gusts at the surface caused the left wing to… ## Other investigations on N1386A (3) 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. - [NTSB ANC18CA017](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC18CA017), Nov 29, 2017: Piper PA 18-125 (N1386A), Nikolai, AK, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot’s improper decision to contact an unsuitable landing surface, which resulted in a nose-over. - [NTSB ANC99LA113](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC99LA113), Aug 14, 1999: Piper PA-18 (N1386A), Anchorage, AK, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's inadequate compensation for wind conditions during takeoff. A factor was a crosswind, and an inadvertent ground loop. - [NTSB ANC97LA091](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC97LA091), Jun 26, 1997: Piper PA-18 (N1386A), Chugiak, AK, substantial damage. Probable cause: water contamination in the fuel, the second pilot's inadequate preflight/preparation to ensure all water was drained from the airplane fuel tanks, and inadequate supervision by the first pilot (CFI).… 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.