ANC05LA143

The airline transport pilot was conducting a 14 CFR Part 91 personal cross-country flight when she smelled smoke in the cockpit. She flew to a small, rough airstrip in the area, while assessing the problem. Unable to isolate the problem, she elected to make a precautionary landing. During the landing the airplane encountered soft terrain and nosed over. Postcrash inspection of the airplane by an aircraft mechanic discovered that the engine starter had failed to disengage, resulting in an overheated starter and smoke in the cockpit.

On September 10, 2005, about 1330 Alaska daylight time, a Cessna 180C airplane, N9254T, sustained substantial damage when it nosed over during an off airport emergency landing, 30 miles east-southeast of Igiugig, Alaska. The airplane was being operated by the pilot as a visual flight rules (VFR) personal cross-country flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. The private pilot and sole passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated at the Igiugig, Airport, Igiugig, about 1300.

During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) on September 10, the pilot said that she smelled smoke in the cockpit. She said she was familiar with a 1200 foot long airstrip in the area, and landed there, and that at the end of the landing roll, the airplane encountered ruts, and nosed over. She said there were no known mechanical anomalies with the airplane prior to the accident. The left wing lift strut was bent during the accident.

After recovery of the airplane, a certified aircraft mechanic who examined the airplane found that the starter solenoid had not disengaged, creating a "hung start" condition, resulting in an overheated starter, which was responsible for the smoke.