# NTSB ANC04CA088: Cessna 182F, N3481U, Kenai, AK, August 5, 2004

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report
- Date: August 5, 2004, 12:45 local (20:45 UTC)
- Place: Kenai, AK
- Coordinates: 60.763889, -151.88916
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=60.7639&lon=-151.8892&mi=10
- Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping)
- Highest injury: No injuries
- Injuries: 2 uninjured
- Status: Completed, report December 3, 2004
- Report: Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office
- NTSB case key (mKey): 60027
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC04CA088
- NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/60027/pdf
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC04CA088

## Probable cause

The pilot's selection of unsuitable terrain for landing, which resulted in a nose over during the ensuing aborted landing when the airplane encountered soft terrain.  Factors contributing to the accident were the soft, swampy area surrounding the landing zone.

## Sequence of events

In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf).

- On ground/water encounter with terrain/water, landing - aborted
  - terrain condition - soft (contributing factor)
  - terrain condition - swampy (contributing factor)
  - unsuitable terrain or takeoff/landing/taxi area - selected, pilot in command (cause)
- Nose over, landing - aborted

## Analysis

The private pilot reported he was landing his single-engine tricycle gear airplane at an off-airport site adjacent to a river.  He indicated the nose wheel started to shimmy, and he elected to abort the landing.  During the aborted landing attempt, the airplane encountered soft terrain and nosed over, sustaining substantial damage to the wings and fuselage.

## Factual narrative

On August 5, 2004, about 1245 Alaska daylight time, a Cessna 182F airplane, N3481U, sustained substantial damage when it nosed over following an aborted landing at the Kustatan River, about 24 miles northwest of Kenai, Alaska.  The airplane was being operated by the pilot as a visual flight rules (VFR) personal cross-country flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred.  The private pilot and sole passenger were not injured.  Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed.  The flight departed Homer, Alaska, about 1155.

During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) on August 5, the pilot said he was landing on a hardpan area adjacent to the Kustatan River when the nose wheel started to shimmy.  He said he attempted to abort the landing, but ran out of hard surface landing area.  He said the airplane ran into a soft, swampy area, and nosed over.  The pilot said there were no known mechanical anomalies with the airplane prior to the accident, and that the wings and propeller were damaged in the accident.

## Aircraft

- Registration: [N3481U](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N3481U), registered now, S/N 18254881, built 1963 (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: Cessna 182F
- 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: 18254881
- Engines: Continental O-470R reciprocating
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Flight: Personal, Part 91
- Operator: James Petersen
- Registered owner: James Petersen
- Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Departed: PAHO, Homer, AK
- Destination: Kenai, AK

## Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

- Pilot; age 61; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3; flight hours: 251 total, 115 in this make and model, 30 in the last 90 days, 16 in the last 30 days

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day

## 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 20040805016279A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20040805016279A), Aug 5, 2004: Cessna 182F, Kustatan, AK, Substantial damage. (-23) Attempted landing on sandy strip. Aircraft flipped over upside down at end of strip. (-23 amendment) on August 5, 2004 at about 1245 Alaska daylight…

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.

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