- Date
- April 26, 2005, 19:00 local (Apr 27, 2005, 03:00 UTC)
- Place
- Anchorage, AK
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N4685ACessna 180
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 13, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- Parties
- Anchorage FSDO
- FAA report
- 20050426007599A
- Case key
- 61384
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 an unsuitable landing area, which resulted in an on ground encounter with terrain during the landing roll, and subsequent nose down of the airplane. A factor associated with the accident was soft 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 certificated private pilot was landing on a grass-covered, off airport site. During the landing roll, the main landing gear encountered soft terrain, and the airplane nosed down, receiving substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. The pilot reported there were no preaccident mechanical problems with the airplane.
Factual narrative
On April 26, 2005, about 1900 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Cessna 180 airplane, N4685A, sustained substantial damage while landing at an off airport site, about 12 miles northwest of Anchorage, Alaska. The solo private pilot was not injured. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) personal flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated about 1730, from the Lake Hood Airstrip, Anchorage, Alaska.
During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge on April 28, the pilot reported that during the landing roll on a grass-covered site, the main landing gear wheels encountered soft terrain, and the airplane nosed down. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. The pilot reported there were no preaccident mechanical problems with the airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4685A
- Reported as
- Cessna 180
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 32282
- Airframe hours
- 2,447.5
- Engine
- Continental O-470K, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Peter C. Schaab
- Registered owner
- Peter C. Schaab
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 1, 2005 · 15 hours before
- Departed
- Z41 · Anchorage, AK
- Destination
- Anchorage, 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
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- August 1, 2004
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 654 total · 177 in this make and model · 18 in the last 90 days · 16 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 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.
Other investigations on N4685A · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.