# NTSB ANC04LA048: Cessna 182A, N4861D, Skwentna, AK, April 26, 2004 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: April 25, 2004, 17:45 local (Apr 26, 2004, 01:45 UTC) - Place: Skwentna, AK - Coordinates: 62.5, -151.5 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=62.5000&lon=-151.5000&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report January 24, 2005 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - Parties: FAA, Anchorage Flight Standards District Office - NTSB case key (mKey): 59125 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC04LA048 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/59125/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC04LA048 ## Probable cause The pilot's selection of an unsuitable landing site, which resulted in a nose over during the landing roll. ## 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 - roll - unsuitable terrain or takeoff/landing/taxi area - selected, pilot in command (cause) - terrain condition - snow covered (contributing factor) - Nose over, landing ## Analysis The private pilot reported he was landing at a private airstrip near a cabin. He said he flew over the airstrip to see if it was suitable for his wheel-equipped airplane. He noted what he thought was the gravel surface of the runway showing through patchy snow, and ruts in the snow as if made by landing airplanes. During the subsequent landing roll, the airplane's wheels sank in deep snow, and the airplane nosed over. The pilot stated that after the accident, he discovered that black cinders had been spread on the runway to expedite the melting of the snow, and it was the cinders he saw from the air, not the gravel runway surface. ## Factual narrative On April 25, 2004, about 1745 Alaska daylight time, a wheel-equipped Cessna 182A airplane, N4861D, sustained substantial damage when it nosed over while landing in deep snow at a private airstrip, about 12 miles west of Skwentna, Alaska. The solo private pilot/airplane owner was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the 14 CFR Part 91 local personal flight. The flight departed Merrill Field, Anchorage, Alaska, about 1700. During a telephone conversation with the NTSB investigator-in-charge (IIC) on April 26, the pilot reported he was landing at a private airstrip near a friend's cabin. He said he flew over the runway, and observed what appeared to be a gravel surface showing through patchy snow, and ruts in the snow as if made by airplanes using the airstrip. He indicated that he felt it safe to land, but during the landing roll, the airplane's tires sank in deep snow, and the airplane nosed over, receiving structural damage to the wings, fuselage, and empennage. The pilot said that after the accident, he discovered that black cinders had been spread on the runway surface to expedite the melting of the snow, and it was the cinders he saw, not the gravel surface of the runway. The pilot did not complete the NTSB Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB form 6120.1) as requested by the NTSB IIC. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N4861D](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N4861D), registered now, S/N 34961, built 1958 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 182A - Registry model: [Cessna 182A](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-182a) (registry code 2072704) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental O-470 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-o-470-series) (registry code 17026, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 34961 - Engines: Continental O-470 230 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Robert K. Thornquist - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Departed: MRI, Anchorage, AK - Destination: Skwentna, AK ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: unknown, unknown; seat: left ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Visibility: 30 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none ## 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 20040425009599A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20040425009599A), Apr 25, 2004: Cessna 182A, Skwentna, AK, Substantial damage. (-23) The pilot owns a cabin at shell lake and uses the private air strip (shell lake strip). Unknown to the pilot the airstrip had been coated with cinders to… ## Other investigations on N4861D (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 ANC15LA046](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC15LA046), Jul 5, 2015: Cessna 182 (N4861D), Anchorage, AK, substantial damage. Probable cause: The total loss of engine power due to carburetor icing, which resulted from the pilot’s failure to use carburetor heat. 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.