# NTSB ANC09TA090: Piper PA-18-150, N743, Bethel, AK, August 31, 2009 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Final report - Date: August 30, 2009, 17:50 local (Aug 31, 2009, 01:50 UTC) - Place: Bethel, AK - Coordinates: 60.546665, -161.103332 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=60.5467&lon=-161.1033&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing-landing roll: Nose over/nose down](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report April 22, 2010 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - Parties: Department of the Interior, Aviation Management - NTSB case key (mKey): 74639 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC09TA090 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/74639/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=74639 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC09TA090 ## Probable cause The pilot's excessive use of brakes while landing at an off-airport site. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Aircraft capability: braking capability](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01061050): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Incorrect use/operation (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 57 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01061050/cases.md) - [Terrain](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03021000): Environmental issues › Physical environment · Contributed to outcome; cases with it: [All aircraft, 267 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03021000/cases.md) - [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 9,295 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Landing-landing roll: Nose over/nose down](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096) (defining event); cases with it: [All aircraft, 2,287 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096/sequence.md) ## Analysis The airplane was being operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in support of a law enforcement mission, as a visual-flight-rules public use flight. The commercial pilot said that he applied the brakes of the tailwheel-equipped airplane aggressively during the landing roll to avoid running off the end of the off-airport landing area. He said that the airplane stopped quickly and nosed down, coming to rest on its nose. He noted that there were no mechanical problems with the airplane prior to the accident. The pilot said that in addition to the left wing tip and leading edge receiving damage, the fuselage and tubular brace above the pilot's seat received substantial damage. ## Factual narrative On August 30, 2009, about 1750 Alaska daylight time, a tailwheel equipped, Piper PA-18 airplane, N743, sustained substantial damage when it nosed down during landing at an off-airport site, about 25 miles southeast of Bethel, Alaska. The airplane was being operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, in support of a law enforcement mission, as a visual flight rules (VFR) public use flight, under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. The solo commercial pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and company flight following procedures were in effect. The airplane departed Bethel about 1415. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) on August 31, a spokesperson for the Fish and Wildlife Service said the pilot reported applying the brakes heavily during landing, and the airplane nosed down. He said there were no known mechanical anomalies with the airplane prior to the accident, and that the airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage during the accident. ## Aircraft - Registration: N743 (not matched to a registry record) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA-18-150 - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 18-8109055 - Airframe hours: 3650 - Engines: LYCOMING O-320 SERIES 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Public aircraft - federal, Public use - Operator: United States Department Of Interior, doing business as U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Registered owner: United States Department Of Interior - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, August 7, 2009 - Departed: Bethel, AK - Destination: Bethel, AK - Flight plan: Company VFR ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 43; injuries: none; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine sea, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, without waivers/limitations; last flight review November 1, 2007; seat: front; flight hours: 3,727 total, 3,517 as pilot in command, 4 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 210° at 18 knots, gusting 26 - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 2,800 ft overcast - Temperature: 54 °F, dew point 46 °F - Altimeter: 30.07 inHg - Observed at: BET, 25 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 20090830049359A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20090830049359A), Aug 30, 2009: Piper PA-18-150, Bethel, AK, Substantial damage. The pilot in command stated he aggressively applied braking during roll out following a landing on a river side gravel bar. The airplane subsequently tipped… ## Docket (2 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 9, 2009, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=74639. 1.4 MB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 723 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40321068&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF - DOI Report (item 2, .PDF, 707 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40321069&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=DOI%20Report-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.