- Date
- September 21, 2010, 14:00 local (22:00 UTC)
- Place
- Skwentna, AK
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N24PPiper PA-18-150
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Loss of engine power (partial)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 20, 2010
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20100921049429A
- Case key
- 77376
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 rapid application of throttle and carburetor heat causing the engine to hesitate and lose power during takeoff following an aborted landing.
Findings · 2
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 pilot reported he was landing the float-equipped airplane on a lake in visual meteorological conditions during a Title 14, CFR Part 91 personal flight. Shortly after touchdown, a gust of wind turned the airplane, and the pilot elected to abort the landing. He said when he applied full throttle and carburetor heat to takeoff, the engine "stumbled and hesitated" and the airplane would not climb. The airplane descended and landed hard on the nearby tundra, causing substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot and the sole passenger were not injured. In his written report to the NTSB, the pilot noted that there were no mechanical problems with the airplane that contributed to the accident, and that he should have applied the carburetor heat more slowly while operating at altitude.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported he was landing the float-equipped airplane on a lake in visual meteorological conditions during a Title 14, CFR Part 91 personal flight. Shortly after touchdown, a gust of wind turned the airplane, and the pilot elected to abort the landing. He said when he applied full throttle and carburetor heat to takeoff, the engine "stumbled and hesitated" and the airplane would not climb. The airplane descended and landed hard on the nearby tundra, causing substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot and the sole passenger were not injured. In his written report to the NTSB, the pilot noted that there were no mechanical problems with the airplane that contributed to the accident, and that he should have applied the carburetor heat more slowly while operating at altitude.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N24P
- Reported as
- Piper PA-18-150
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18-8109073
- Airframe hours
- 3,184
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320 SERIES, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 13, 2010
- Departed
- 64K · Rainy Pass Lodg, AK
- Destination
- 64K · RainyPass Lodge, 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
- 47
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- May 11, 2010
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 1,400 total · 737 in this make and model · 60 in the last 90 days · 30 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 120° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 25 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 46 °F, dew point 37 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.78 inHg
- Observed at
- PAPT
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 9, 2010, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 281 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.