# NTSB ANC04CA094: Cessna 170B, N8238A, Anchorage, AK, August 23, 2004 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: August 22, 2004, 20:40 local (Aug 23, 2004, 04:40 UTC) - Place: Anchorage, AK - Coordinates: 61.186943, -149.96527 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=61.1869&lon=-149.9653&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report December 28, 2004 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - NTSB case key (mKey): 60028 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC04CA094 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/60028/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC04CA094 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll due to the restricted movement of the rudder pedals from his headset cord, which resulted in the airplane exiting the runway and nosing down. ## 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 - directional control - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - flt control syst,rudder control - movement restricted - On ground/water encounter with terrain/water, landing - roll - terrain condition - rough/uneven - Nose down, landing - roll ## Analysis The private pilot said during the landing roll the airplane suddenly exited the runway to the left for no apparent reason. He reported that once off the runway, the airplane nosed down, and came to a stop. The pilot said there were no known mechanical anomalies with the airplane prior to the accident. The airplane sustained structural damage to the left wing, landing gear attachments, and fuselage. An airport police officer who interviewed the pilot at the accident site reported the pilot told him he was unable to use the rudder pedals because his headset cord was wrapped around them. ## Factual narrative On August 22, 2004, about 2040 Alaska daylight time, a Cessna 170B airplane, N8238A, sustained substantial damage when the pilot lost directional control, and the airplane nosed down during the landing roll on the Lake Hood Strip at Anchorage, 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 solo private pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight departed Ninilchik Airport, Ninilchik, Alaska, about 1845. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) on August 26, and reiterated in a written statement dated august 31, the pilot said during the landing roll the airplane suddenly exited the runway to the left for no apparent reason. He said once off the runway, the airplane nosed down, and came to a stop. He said the airplane dropped down onto the tailwheel, and he exited the airplane. The pilot said there were no known mechanical anomalies with the airplane prior to the accident, and that the airplane sustained structural damage to the left wing, landing gear attachments, and fuselage. In a written report, prepared by an airport police officer who interviewed the pilot at the accident site on August 22, the officer reported the pilot told him he was unable to use the rudder pedals because his headset cord was wrapped around them. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N8238A](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N8238A), registered now, S/N 25090, built 1952 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 170B - Registry model: [Cessna 170B](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-170b) (registry code 2072306) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental C145 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-c145-series) (registry code 17012, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 25090 - Engines: Continental O-300-A reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Terrence Moore - Registered owner: Terrence J. Moore - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Departed: NIN, Ninilchik, AK - Destination: Z41, Anchorage, AK - Airport: Z41, Lake Hood Strip, runway 13, 1,078 × ft ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 56; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3; flight hours: 273 total, 65 in this make and model, 20 in the last 90 days, 20 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 20040822026489A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20040822026489A), Aug 22, 2004: Cessna 170B, Anchorage, AK, Substantial damage. (-23) Pilot ground looped aircraft under unknown circumstances. ## Other investigations on N8238A (1) 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 FTW74FRA23](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW74FRA23), Jan 31, 1974: Cessna 170B (N8238A), Palacios, TX, substantial damage 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.