- Date
- September 6, 2009, 18:00 local (Sep 7, 2009, 02:00 UTC)
- Place
- Kotzebue, AK
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N1187HAeronca 15AC
- Defining event
- Landing-aborted after touchdown: Collision during takeoff/land
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 29, 2009
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- Parties
- FAA FSDO-01
- FAA report
- 20090906048909A
- Case key
- 74659
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 delay in aborting the off-airport landing resulting in a hard landing.
Findings · 4
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The airline transport pilot was on a Title 14, CFR Part 91, personal flight which included taking off and landing at an off-airport site. In a written statement to the NTSB, the pilot reported that when the airplane touched down at the off-airport site, it bounced about 8 feet, and touched down again. He said with maximum braking he did not think he could stop the airplane in the landing area, and he added power to abort the landing. He reported that as the airplane became airborne, he encountered a downdraft, and the airplane collided with terrain. He said he should have aborted the landing sooner. He noted there were no known mechanical problems with the airplane prior to the accident. The airplane received substantial damage to the fuselage and both wings.
Factual narrative
The airline transport pilot was on a Title 14, CFR Part 91, personal flight which included taking off and landing at an off-airport site. In a written statement to the NTSB, the pilot reported that when the airplane touched down at the off-airport site, it bounced about 8 feet, and touched down again. He said with maximum braking he did not think he could stop the airplane in the landing area, and he added power to abort the landing. He reported that as the airplane became airborne, he encountered a downdraft, and the airplane collided with terrain. He said he should have aborted the landing sooner. He noted there were no known mechanical problems with the airplane prior to the accident. The airplane received substantial damage to the fuselage and both wings.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1187H
- Reported as
- Aeronca 15AC
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15AC-200
- Airframe hours
- 5,709
- Engine
- Cont Motor C145 SERIES, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Dixon Charles W
- Registered owner
- Dixon Charles W
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 10, 2009
- Departed
- Kotzebue, AK
- Destination
- Kotzebue, AK
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
- 64
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight engineer, Military, Commercial, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- July 24, 2008
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 13,000 total · 1,000 in this make and model · 6,500 as pilot in command · 35 in the last 90 days · 30 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 12 knots, gusting 17
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 37 °F, dew point 30 °F
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 26, 2009, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 947 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.