- Date
- August 7, 2004, 08:00 local (16:00 UTC)
- Place
- Palmer, AK
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N645RFPiper PA-18
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 24, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- Parties
- FAA-AL-ANC FSDO 03
- FAA report
- 20040807018739A
- Case key
- 59891
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 misjudged distance/altitude during the final approach phase of landing, which resulted in an undershoot and subsequent collision with terrain.
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 commercial certificated pilot was landing a tundra tire-equipped airplane on a remote airstrip. The airstrip was oriented north/south, and was about 500 feet long. The pilot said he was landing toward the south, and collided with the edge of the airstrip, which is also the bank of a creek. He indicated the landing gear was torn off, and the airplane came to rest on its belly-mounted auxiliary fuel tank. The engine and propeller were damaged when the airplane nosed down on the airstrip. After the airplane was recovered and inspected by a mechanic, the pilot notified the NTSB investigator-in-charge that the airplane received structural damage to the aft gusset of the right main landing gear attach point.
Factual narrative
On August 7, 2004, about 0800 Alaska daylight time, a tundra tire-equipped Piper PA-18 airplane, N645RF, sustained substantial damage when it collided with terrain at the approach end of a remote airstrip, about 16 miles northeast of Palmer, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) local area on-demand cargo flight under Title 14, CFR Part 135, when the accident occurred. The airplane was operated by the pilot. The commercial certificated pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight originated at the Wolf Lake Airport, Palmer, about 0730. No flight plan was filed.
During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), on August 7, the pilot reported that he was landing at an airstrip in Carpenter Creek, Alaska. The airstrip is oriented north/south, and is about 500 feet long. The pilot said he was landing toward the south and collided with the edge of the airstrip, which is also the bank of Carpenter Creek. He indicated the landing gear was torn off, and the airplane came to rest on its belly-mounted auxiliary fuel tank. The engine and propeller were damaged when the airplane nosed down on the airstrip.
On August 11, after the airplane was recovered and inspected by a mechanic, the pilot notified the NTSB IIC that the airplane received structural damage to the aft gusset of the right main landing gear attach point.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N645RF
- Reported as
- Piper PA-18
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18-8711
- Airframe hours
- 5,005
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-A2D, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 135
- Operator
- Bishop, Gary Lee
- Registered owner
- Gary Bishop
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · June 8, 2004 · 33 hours before
- Departed
- 4AK6 · Palmer, AK
- Destination
- Palmer, 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
- 57
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- February 18, 2004
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 20,000 total · 15,000 in this make and model · 20,000 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 61 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.