# NTSB ANC09CA106: Rittal Alfred Timothy Glastar, N55XP, Tuluksak, AK, September 23, 2009 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Serious injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: September 22, 2009, 17:00 local (Sep 23, 2009, 01:00 UTC) - Place: Tuluksak, AK - Coordinates: 60.738056, -159.577774 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=60.7381&lon=-159.5778&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Takeoff](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/300) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Takeoff: Loss of control in flight](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240) - Highest injury: Serious injuries - Injuries: 1 serious - Status: Completed, report April 19, 2010 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - NTSB case key (mKey): 74791 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC09CA106 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/74791/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=74791 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC09CA106 ## Probable cause A loss of control for an undetermined reason during the takeoff portion of an aborted landing at an off-airport site, resulting in a collision with terrain. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Performance/control parameters](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062000): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained; cases with it: [Rittal Alfred Timothy GLASTAR, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062000/cases.md?model=05621KK), [All aircraft, 1,269 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062000/cases.md) - [Terrain: rough terrain](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03021015): Environmental issues › Physical environment · Not specified; cases with it: [Rittal Alfred Timothy GLASTAR, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03021015/cases.md?model=05621KK), [All aircraft, 442 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03021015/cases.md) - [Not determined](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000): Not determined › Not determined · Unknown/Not determined (probable cause); cases with it: [Rittal Alfred Timothy GLASTAR, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000/cases.md?model=05621KK), [All aircraft, 2,247 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Takeoff: Loss of control in flight](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240) (defining event); cases with it: [Rittal Alfred Timothy GLASTAR, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/sequence.md?model=05621KK), [All aircraft, 5,002 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/sequence.md) - [Takeoff: Collision during takeoff/land](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/490); cases with it: [Rittal Alfred Timothy GLASTAR, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/490/sequence.md?model=05621KK), [All aircraft, 1,309 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/490/sequence.md) ## Analysis The private pilot stated that he was on a Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal cross-country flight, and was attempting to land at a remote off-airport site adjacent to a creek. He said in a written statement to the NTSB that he flew over the site to inspect it prior to landing. He said he was on final approach to land when the airplane started to sink, landed hard, and he aborted the landing by applying power to takeoff. The next thing he says he recalls is waking up in the creek near the landing site. The pilot noted in his written statement that there were no preaccident mechanical problems with the airplane, and thought he had encountered a downdraft. In a later conversation with an NTSB investigator, he reported that friends who recovered the airplane saw glass fragments from the left wing's navigation lights on the runway, perhaps indicating the left main landing gear had collapsed on touchdown. The pilot said he had no recollection of this occurring, but said it was possible. The airplane was further damaged when it was dropped from a helicopter during the recovery flight. ## Factual narrative The private pilot stated that he was on a Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal cross-country flight, and was attempting to land at a remote off-airport site adjacent to a creek. He said in a written statement to the NTSB that he flew over the site to inspect it prior to landing. He said he was on final approach to land when the airplane started to sink, landed hard, and he aborted the landing by applying power to takeoff. The next thing he says he recalls is waking up in the creek near the landing site. The pilot noted in his written statement that there were no preaccident mechanical problems with the airplane, and thought he had encountered a downdraft. In a later conversation with the NTSB investigator in charge on October 15, he indicated friends who recovered the airplane saw glass fragments from the left wing's navigation lights on the runway, perhaps indicating the left main landing gear had collapsed on touchdown. The pilot said he had no recollection of this occurring, but said it was possible. The airplane was further damaged when it was dropped from a helicopter during the recovery flight. Due to its remote location, the NTSB did not inspect the wreckage. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N55XP](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N55XP-2010-12-28), registration cancelled 2010-12-28, S/N 5408, built 2007 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: RITTAL ALFRED TIMOTHY GLASTAR - Registry model: [Rittal Alfred Timothy GLASTAR](https://openairdocs.org/model/rittal-alfred-timothy-glastar) (registry code 05621KK) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Aerosport O-360](https://openairdocs.org/engine/aerosport-o-360) (registry code 01300, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: 5408 - Engines: AEROSPORT O-360 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Rittal Alfred Timothy - Registered owner: Rittal Alfred Timothy - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Departed: Anchorage, AK - Destination: NA, Tuluksak, AK - Airport: NA, Na ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 58; injuries: serious; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, with waivers/limitations; seat: left; flight hours: 512 total, 275 in this make and model ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day ## 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 20090922049929A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20090922049929A), Sep 22, 2009: Rittal Alfr GLASTAR, Bethel, AK, Substantial damage. The pilot flew to a hunting site approximately sixty five miles east of Bethel on Cripple Creek which flows north into salmon river. The airstrip is not an… ## Other investigations on N55XP (1) 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. - [NTSB ANC08CA001](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC08CA001), Oct 8, 2007: Rittal Glastar (N55XP), Girdwood, AK, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's excessive use of the brakes during the landing roll, which resulted in a nose over. ## Docket (1 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 9, 2009, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=74791. 689 KB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 689 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40321073&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.