ANC07LA092

NTSB accident investigation · Piper PA-12 · Kenai, AK · August 22, 2007

Accident · No injuriesLimited investigationFinal report
Date
August 22, 2007, 12:15 local (20:15 UTC)
Place
Kenai, AK
Injuries
1 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Landing
Aircraft
N2328MPiper PA-12
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed · report March 31, 2008
Report
Approved by Office Director
NTSB office
Alaska Regional Office
Parties
AL-FAA-ANC FSDO 03
FAA report
20070822017669A
Case key
66992

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 failure to maintain adequate altitude/clearance from a parked airplane during the landing flare.

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.

In flight collision with objectLanding - flare/touchdown
Object - aircraft parked/standing
Altitude/clearance - not maintainedPilot in commandCause
Hard landingLanding - flare/touchdown

Analysis

The private certificated pilot was landing at a remote airstrip that was about 1,100 feet long, and about 20 feet wide. An unoccupied airplane was parked close to the airstrip threshold. During the landing flare, the left wing of the accident airplane struck the propeller of the parked airplane. The accident airplane then collided with the ground and received structural damage to the left wing spar, left aileron, and the right elevator. In the Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120.1) submitted by the pilot, the pilot reported that during the landing, his attention was diverted from the parked airplane. In the portion of the report titled: "How could this accident have been prevented," the pilot indicated that he could have landed beyond the other airplane.

Factual narrative

On August 22, 2007, about 1215 Alaska daylight time, a tundra tire-equipped Piper PA-12 airplane, N2328M, sustained substantial damage when it collided with the propeller of a parked airplane during the landing flare at a remote airstrip, about 27 miles northwest of Kenai, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) cross-country personal 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. The flight originated at the Lake Hood Strip, Anchorage, Alaska, about 1115, and no flight plan was filed.

On August 27, 2007, a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, Anchorage Flight Standards District Office (FSDO), reported that he received a telephone call from the owner of a Cessna 185, N7372H, that had received damage to its propeller while parked at an airstrip near the Kustatan River. The pilot reported that it was struck by the accident airplane on August 22.

During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), on August 29, 2007, the accident pilot reported that he was landing toward the southeast at an airstrip that was about 1,100 feet long, and about 20 feet wide. The pilot said that he saw the unoccupied Cessna airplane parked close to the airstrip threshold. During the landing flare, the left wing of the accident airplane struck the propeller of the parked airplane. The accident airplane then collided with the ground and received structural damage to the left wing spar, left aileron, and the right elevator.

In the Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120.1) submitted by the pilot, the pilot reported that during the landing, his attention was diverted from the parked airplane. In the portion of the report titled: "How could this accident have been prevented," the pilot indicated that he could have landed beyond the Cessna 185.

Aircraft

Registration
N2328M
Reported as
Piper PA-12
Category
Airplane
Serial number
12-1483
Airframe hours
3,789
Engine
Lycoming O-320-A2B, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Personal · Part 91
Registered owner
Paul A. Weimer
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Last inspection
Annual · April 1, 2007 · 25 hours before
Departed
Z41 · Anchorage, AK
Destination
kenai, AK
Airport
runway 12, 1,100 × 20 ft, dirt

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
77
Injuries
None
Certificate
Private
Airplane ratings
Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
Medical
Class 3, With waivers/limitations
Last flight review
August 1, 2006
Seat
Front
Flight hours
3,167 total · 3,100 in this make and model · 3,167 as pilot in command · 25 in the last 90 days · 14 in the last 30 days

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
125° at 5 knots
Visibility
30 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
1,000 ft overcast
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 N2328M · 2

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.