- Date
- March 23, 2004, 12:00 local (16:00 UTC)
- Place
- Levelock, AK
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N97124Stinson 108-2
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 29, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- Parties
- FAA-AL-ANC FSDO 03
- FAA report
- 20040323006439A
- Case key
- 58943
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 selection of unsuitable terrain for landing, which resulted in an overrun. Factors contributing to the accident were the pilot's inadequate weather evaluation, a tailwind, and a slippery, ice-covered landing surface.
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 landing a wheel-equipped airplane on a frozen lake that was about 1,000 feet long. The landing was the second landing of the day at the lake. The pilot said he was landing toward the north, and after touchdown he applied the brakes. The airplane failed to stop, and slid off the frozen surface into an area of muskeg. The pilot said the airplane received damage to the propeller and the main landing gear attach points at the fuselage. He indicated that after the accident, he noticed a 5 to 10 knot wind from the south, and the ice surface of the lake was slippery due to slight melting. The pilot noted that there were no preaccident mechanical problems with the airplane.
Factual narrative
On March 23, 2004, about 1200 Alaska standard time, a wheel-equipped Stinson 108-2 airplane, N97124, sustained substantial damage when it overran the intended landing area on a frozen lake and encountered rough terrain, about 2 miles south of Levelock, 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, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight originated at the Naknek Airport, Naknek, Alaska, about 1118. 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 March 23, the pilot reported that the landing was the second of the day on a frozen lake that was about 1,000 feet long. He said he was landing toward the north, and after touchdown he applied the brakes. The airplane failed to stop, and slid off the frozen surface into an area of muskeg. The pilot said the airplane received damage to the propeller and the main landing gear attach points at the fuselage. He indicated that after the accident, he noticed a 5 to 10 knot wind from the south, and the ice surface of the lake was slippery due to slight melting. The pilot indicated there were no preaccident mechanical problems with the airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N97124
- Reported as
- Stinson 108-2
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 108-1124
- Engine
- Franklin 6A4-165-B3, 165 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Bruce C. Junes
- Registered owner
- Brandon Cintula
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 30, 2003
- Departed
- 5NK · Naknek, AK
- Destination
- Levelock, 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
- 49
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- May 29, 2003
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 253 total · 120 in this make and model · 213 as pilot in command · 9 in the last 90 days · 9 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 20 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.