# NTSB ANC05LA056: Piper PA-18, N8960C, Palmer, AK, April 10, 2005 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: April 10, 2005, 14:30 local (22:30 UTC) - Place: Palmer, AK - Coordinates: 61.466667, -148.800003 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=61.4667&lon=-148.8000&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report September 13, 2005 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - Parties: FAA, Anchorage Flight Standards District Office - NTSB case key (mKey): 61287 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC05LA056 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/61287/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC05LA056 ## Probable cause The pilot's selection of an unsuitable landing site, which resulted in a loss of control and the airplane nosing 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 - rough/uneven (contributing factor) - Loss of control - on ground/water, landing - roll - Nose over, landing - roll ## Analysis The private pilot was landing his tailwheel airplane on a rough and uneven gravel bar. He reported that the main landing gear wheels encountered a depression in the gravel bar during the landing roll, and he was unable to keep the airplane from nosing over and sustaining structural damage. He stated that there were no preaccident mechanical problems with the airplane. ## Factual narrative On April 10, 2005, about 1430 Alaska daylight time, a wheel-equipped Piper PA-18 airplane, N8960C, sustained substantial damage following a loss of control and nose over while landing at a remote, off-airport gravel bar in the Knik River, about 12 miles south-southeast of Palmer, Alaska. The private pilot/airplane owner and the sole passenger were not injured. The local, 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight operated without a flight plan in visual meteorological conditions. The flight departed Butte Muni airstrip, Palmer, about 1430. During a telephone conversation with the NTSB investigator-in-charge on April 11, the pilot related that he was practicing touch and go landings on the gravel bar. He said on the accident landing, the main landing gear encountered a depression in the gravel bar, and he was unable to maintain control of the airplane and keep it from nosing over. He noted that the airplane received structural damage to the rudder, lift struts, and fuselage, and that there were no preaccident mechanical problems with the airplane. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N8960C](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N8960C), registered now, S/N 18-3261, built 1954 (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: 13-3261 - Airframe hours: 5968 - Engines: Lycoming O-320 150 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Daniel L. Cooper - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, July 1, 2004, 52 hours before - Departed: AK1, Palmer, AK ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 47; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, without waivers/limitations; last flight review April 1, 2004; seat: front; flight hours: 348 total, 103 in this make and model, 323 as pilot in command, 175 in the last 90 days, 7 in the last 30 days, 2 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 85° at 10 knots - Visibility: 40 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 39 °F ## 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 20050410006539A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20050410006539A), Apr 10, 2005: Piper PA18135, Palmer, AK, Substantial damage. (-23) Pilot was making practice landings on an off airport landing site. The aircraft entered into a dip in the landing area. The pilot lost control of the… 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.