# NTSB ANC05CA152: Piper PA-18, N9950Q, Wiseman, AK, August 13, 2005 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: August 13, 2005, 13:00 local (21:00 UTC) - Place: Wiseman, AK - Coordinates: 65.390525, -148.330978 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=65.3905&lon=-148.3310&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 31, 2006 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - NTSB case key (mKey): 62637 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC05CA152 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/62637/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC05CA152 ## Probable cause The pilot's selection of unsuitable terrain for landing, which resulted in a nose over during the landing roll. Factors contributing to the accident were a short landing area, and pressure to conduct the flight, which the pilot stated was a rescue situation. ## 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 - terrain condition - short runway/landing area (contributing factor) - unsuitable terrain or takeoff/landing/taxi area - selected, pilot in command (cause) - pressure induced by conditions/events, pilot in command (contributing factor) - Nose over, landing - roll ## Analysis The private certificated pilot was conducting Title 14, CFR Part 91 flight operations in a remote area in support of his hunting/guiding business. At the request of an Alaska State Trooper, the pilot landed in a remote drainage to pick up a stranded hunter who had been at a camp for the previous five days when another hunt/guide pilot damaged the propeller of an airplane. The accident pilot reported that the landing area was short, he had difficulty stopping, and his airplane nosed over in swampy, grassy area. After the accident, the Alaska State Trooper flew the pilot, and the stranded hunter out, and then flew the accident pilot and a mechanic back in. The mechanic changed the propeller and replaced one wing lift strut. The pilot reported that the landing area was, "...not a good place to land, and I would not have gone in there if it had not been a rescue situation." ## Factual narrative On August 13, 2005, at estimated time of 1300 Alaska daylight time, a tundra tire-equipped Piper PA-18 airplane, N9950Q, sustained substantial damage when it nosed over during the landing roll at a remote area, about 56 miles north of Wiseman, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) local area 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, and no flight plan was filed. On August 18, 2005, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), was notified of the accident by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) personnel. Telephone messages were left for the pilot by the NTSB IIC requesting additional information, but the pilot was conducting remote hunting/guiding operations in the Brooks Range, north of Wiseman. Subsequent phone conversations with FAA Flight Standards District Office (FSDO), personnel, Fairbanks, Alaska, revealed that the accident airplane received damage to its propeller and wing lift strut. The lift strut was reported to have been replaced by a mechanic in the field, and the pilot continued his business operations. On October 26, the NTSB Alaska Regional Office received a Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, (NTSB Form 6120.1/2) from the pilot. The pilot stated that at the request of an Alaska State Trooper, Coldfoot, Alaska, he landed in a remote drainage to pick up a stranded hunter who had been at a camp for the previous five days because the pilot of another hunt/guide business damaged a propeller blade. The accident pilot reported that the landing area was short, he had difficulty stopping, and his airplane nosed over in swampy, grassy area. After the accident, the Alaska State Trooper flew the pilot and the stranded hunter out, and then flew the accident pilot and a mechanic back in. The mechanic changed the propeller and replaced a wing lift strut. The pilot indicated that the landing area was, "...not a good place to land, and I would not have gone in there if it had not been a rescue situation." ## Aircraft - Registration: [N9950Q](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N9950Q), registered now, S/N 18-3563, built 1955 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Piper PA-18 - Registry model: [Piper PA-18-135](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-18-135) (registry code 7101820) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-320 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (registry code 41508, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 18-3563 - Engines: Lycoming O-320-A2B reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Business, Part 91 - Registered owner: David A. Bridges - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Departed: Wiseman, AK ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 55; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3; flight hours: 5,500 total, 4,500 in this make and model, 80 in the last 90 days, 30 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day ## Other investigations on N9950Q (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 ANC08CA119](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC08CA119), Sep 8, 2008: Piper PA-18-135 (N9950Q), Coldfoot, AK, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to attain/maintain sufficient flying speed during initial climb. 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.