# NTSB ANC09LA103: Piper PA-18, N1169A, Nabesna, AK, September 18, 2009

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report
- Date: September 18, 2009, 14:00 local (22:00 UTC)
- Place: Nabesna, AK
- Coordinates: 62.274723, -142.883331 (estimated)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=62.2747&lon=-142.8833&mi=10
- Phase of flight: [Takeoff](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/300) (OpenAirDocs' grouping)
- Defining event: [Takeoff: Collision during takeoff/land](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/490)
- Highest injury: No injuries
- Injuries: 2 uninjured
- Status: Completed, report August 12, 2010
- Report: Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office
- Parties: Federal Aviation Administration (Operations)
- NTSB case key (mKey): 74765
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC09LA103
- NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/74765/pdf
- NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=74765
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC09LA103

## Probable cause

The pilot's selection of an unsuitable takeoff area with an unfavorable wind.

## Findings

NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause.

- [Info processing/decision: decision making/judgment](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Piper PA-18-125, 3 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md?model=7101812), [All aircraft, 3,098 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md)
- [Aircraft](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01060000): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Capability exceeded; cases with it: [Piper PA-18-125, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01060000/cases.md?model=7101812), [All aircraft, 63 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01060000/cases.md)
- [Wind: variable wind](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03034025): Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena · Contributed to outcome; cases with it: [Piper PA-18-125, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03034025/cases.md?model=7101812), [All aircraft, 113 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03034025/cases.md)

## Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened.

- [Takeoff: Other weather encounter](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/400); cases with it: [Piper PA-18-125, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/400/sequence.md?model=7101812), [All aircraft, 1,127 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/400/sequence.md)
- [Takeoff: Collision during takeoff/land](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/490) (defining event); cases with it: [Piper PA-18-125, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/490/sequence.md?model=7101812), [All aircraft, 1,309 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/490/sequence.md)

## Analysis

The pilot was departing from a rough and uneven 800-foot-long remote airstrip in a tundra tire-equipped airplane. The pilot said that after assessing his passenger's weight, coupled with the southerly light and variable winds, he elected to depart to the south. He said that just after takeoff the wind suddenly switched to a tailwind and the airplane stopped climbing. The airplane then collided with a stand of trees and brush at the departure end of the site, sustaining substantial damage to the wings and empennage. The pilot noted that there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane.

## Factual narrative

On September 18, 2009, about 1400 Alaska daylight time, a tundra tire-equipped Piper PA-18 airplane, N1169A, sustained substantial damage when it collided with trees and brush after takeoff from a remote airstrip, about 12 miles south of Nabesna, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) other work use flight, in support of the operator’s hunting guide business, under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91, when the accident occurred. The commercial pilot and one passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and company flight following procedures were in effect. At the time of the accident the flight was returning to the operator's remote lodge near Nabesna, with a hunting client aboard. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) on September 18, the pilot related that before departing from the 800 foot long, rough and uneven airstrip, he assessed his passenger's weight, along with wind conditions before electing to depart to the south. He characterized the winds as light and variable, but from a southerly direction. Just after takeoff, as the airplane climbed to about 10 feet above the ground, the pilot realized that the wind was now out of the north, and the airplane stopped climbing as it neared the departure end of the airstrip. The airplane collided with a stand of trees and brush, coming to rest about 75 feet from the departure end of the airstrip, sustaining substantial damage to the wings and empennage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane.

## Aircraft

- Registration: [N1169A](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N1169A), registered now, S/N 18-767, built 1951 (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA-18
- Registry model: [Piper PA-18-125](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-18-125) (registry code 7101812) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-320 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (registry code 41508, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs)
- Category: Airplane
- Serial number: 18-767
- Airframe hours: 7018
- Engines: Lycoming O-360-A1A 180 horsepower reciprocating
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Flight: Other work use, Part 91
- Operator: Wendell Kirk Ellis
- Registered owner: Wendell Kirk Ellis
- Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal
- Last inspection: Annual, May 1, 2009, 83 hours before
- Departed: Nabesna, AK
- Destination: Nabesna, AK
- Flight plan: Company VFR

## Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

- Pilot; age 52; injuries: none; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land, single-engine sea; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, with waivers/limitations; seat: front; flight hours: 8,766 total, 8,419 in this make and model, 8,683 as pilot in command, 73 in the last 90 days, 45 in the last 30 days, 3 in the last 24 hours

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling: none
- Temperature: 55 °F, dew point 34 °F
- Altimeter: 29.47 inHg

## 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 20090918025619A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20090918025619A), Sep 18, 2009: Piper PA-18-125, Nabesna, AK, Substantial damage. Pilot was departing river bar with one passenger. Winds were light but shifting. After liftoff pilot realized that wind had shifted and was now a tailwind.…

## Other investigations on N1169A (2)

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 ANC68F0083](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC68F0083), Aug 9, 1967: Piper PA-18 (N1169A), Northway, AK, destroyed
- [NTSB ANC67D0058](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC67D0058), Sep 10, 1966: Piper PA-18A (N1169A), Egegik, AK, substantial damage

## Docket (1 files)

The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 7, 2010, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=74765. 506 KB in all.

- Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 506 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40332565&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.

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