- Date
- March 19, 2011, 13:00 local (21:00 UTC)
- Place
- Beluga Lake, AK
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N3573PPiper PA-18A 150
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Nose over/nose down
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 20, 2011
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 20110319006569A
- Case key
- 78669
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 decision to land on unsuitable terrain, resulting in the airplane nosing over.
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 stated that he was landing the ski-equipped airplane on a glacier when the left ski got caught in the snow, and the airplane nosed over. The left wing and the vertical stabilizer sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane. The airplane was equipped with a required emergency locator transmitter (ELT), however, it was an older generation ELT that transmitted on 121.5 megahertz, not the newer, digital version that transmits on 406 megahertz. As of February 1, 2009, the search and rescue satellites that receive ELT signals no longer had the capability to receive the older analog 121.5 megahertz ELTs. The 406 megahertz ELTs are received within seconds of activation, and rescuers are notified within minutes of the accident location. In this accident, the pilot was missing for four days, but was able to hike off the glacier, where he was located by rescuers.
Factual narrative
The pilot stated that he was landing the ski-equipped airplane on a glacier when the left ski caught in the snow, and the airplane nosed over. The pilot reported no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane. The left wing and the vertical stabilizer sustained substantial damage. The airplane was equipped with a required emergency locator transmitter (ELT), however, it was an older generation ELT that transmitted on 121.5 megahertz, not the newer, digital version that transmits on 406 megahertz. As of February 1, 2009, the search and rescue satellites that receive ELT signals no longer had the capability to receive the older analog 121.5 megahertz ELTs. The 406 megahertz ELTs are received within seconds of activation, and rescuers are notified within minutes of the accident location. In this accident, the pilot was missing for four days, but was able to hike off the glacier, where he was located by rescuers.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3573P
- Reported as
- Piper PA-18A 150
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18-4527
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320 SERIES, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- Z41 · Anchorage, AK
- Destination
- Z41 · Anchorage, 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
- 45
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 530 total · 324 in this make and model · 24 in the last 90 days · 13 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 25 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 5,500 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 27 °F
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 29, 2011, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 438 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.
Other investigations on N3573P · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.