# NTSB ANC08LA126: Piper PA-19, N3267Y, Palmer, AK, September 20, 2008 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: September 19, 2008, 18:45 local (Sep 20, 2008, 02:45 UTC) - Place: Palmer, AK - Coordinates: 61.220832, -148.679168 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=61.2208&lon=-148.6792&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Approach](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/500) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Approach-VFR go-around: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report September 30, 2009 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration (Airworthiness), Federal Aviation Administration (Operations) - NTSB case key (mKey): 68999 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC08LA126 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/68999/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=68999 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC08LA126 ## Probable cause A total loss of engine power for an undetermined reason. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Power plant](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01057100): Aircraft › Aircraft power plant · Inoperative; cases with it: [All aircraft, 198 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01057100/cases.md) - [Not determined](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000): Not determined › Not determined · Unknown/Not determined (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 2,247 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000/cases.md) - [Terrain: rough terrain](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03021015): Environmental issues › Physical environment · Contributed to outcome; cases with it: [All aircraft, 442 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03021015/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Approach-VFR go-around: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341) (defining event); cases with it: [All aircraft, 3,820 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md) - [Landing: Off-field or emergency landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440); cases with it: [All aircraft, 3,365 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md) - [Landing-landing roll: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot said that while on a Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight, he planned to fly over an off-airport site to inspect it before landing. After completing a low pass over the site, he advanced the throttle to climb, and all engine power was lost. The pilot selected an area of rough and uneven terrain at the departure end of the site as a forced landing area. During the forced landing, the left wing struck the ground, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. A nearby aviation weather reporting station reported atmospheric conditions suitable for carburetor icing, but the pilot stated in his written report to the NTSB that he used carburetor heat throughout the descent and approach to the site. A postaccident inspection by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector disclosed no evidence any preimpact mechanical problems. ## Factual narrative On September 19, 2008, about 1845 Alaska daylight time, a tundra tire-equipped Piper PA-19 airplane, N3267Y, sustained substantial damage during a forced landing, about 15 miles southeast of Palmer, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91, personal flight when the accident occurred. The commercial pilot and sole passenger sustained minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated at the pilot's private airstrip, Wasilla, Alaska, about 1815. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) on September 20, the pilot reported that he planned to fly over his intended landing site to inspect the area before landing. He said that after completing the low pass over the site, and as he advanced the throttle to climb, all engine power was lost, and he selected an area of rough terrain at the departure end of the site as a forced landing area. During the forced landing, the left wing collided with an area of gravel-covered terrain. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. The pilot noted in his written report to the NTSB that carburetor heat was applied during the descent and approach, while maintaining 1,500 engine rpm. The closest official weather observation station is located at the Palmer Airport, about 15 miles northwest of the accident site. At 1846, an Aviation Routine Weather Report (METAR) was reporting, in part: Wind, calm; visibility, 10 statute miles; clouds and sky condition, 7,000 feet overcast; temperature, 45 degrees F; dew point, 41 degrees F; altimeter, 29.49 inHg. When the temperature and dew point are entered into a carburetor icing probability chart, the result is in the "Serious icing-cruise or climb power" category. On September 23, a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airworthiness inspector from the Anchorage Flight Standards District Office traveled to the pilot's private airstrip in Wasilla, and examined the airplane after it was recovered. The inspector reported that he was unable to find any preaccident mechanical problems with the airplane. ## Aircraft - Registration: N3267Y (not matched to a registry record) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA-19 - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 18-2007 - Airframe hours: 3264 - Engines: CONT MOTOR O-200 SERIES 100 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Lon P. Pogue - Registered owner: Pogue L Paul - Last inspection: Annual, May 31, 2008, 19 hours before - Departed: AK99, Palmer, AK - Destination: Palmer, AK ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 55; injuries: minor; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine sea, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, with waivers/limitations; seat: front; flight hours: 3,400 total, 100 in this make and model, 25 in the last 90 days, 10 in the last 30 days, 3 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: calm - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 7,000 ft overcast - Temperature: 45 °F, dew point 41 °F - Altimeter: 29.48 inHg - Observed at: PAQ, 15 nm away ## 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 20080920848499A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20080920848499A), Sep 20, 2008: Piper PA19, Palmer, AK, Substantial damage. (-23) On 9/19/2008 at 1830 LCL, the aircraft departed hunter creek strip (AK66) for a 14CFR part 91 flight to the knik glacier/lake george area. The pilot… ## Docket (1 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 6, 2009, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=68999. 679 KB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 679 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40317003&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF 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.