- Date
- September 3, 2011, 18:00 local (Sep 4, 2011, 02:00 UTC)
- Place
- Deadhorse, AK
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N83283Piper PA-18-150
- Defining event
- Approach: Controlled flight into terr/obj (CFIT)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 6, 2012
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- Parties
- FAA FSDO-01
- FAA report
- 20110903021629A
- Case key
- 81692
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 continued visual flight into instrument meteorological conditions.
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 said that, during a visual flight to a remote hunting camp, he encountered an area of fog. He said that he was flying close to a ridge and trying to maintain visual reference when the right wing struck the ridge slope. The airplane turned toward the terrain and impacted the ground, sustaining substantial damage to the wings and fuselage.
Factual narrative
The pilot said he was approaching a remote hunting camp in an area of fog. He said he was too close to a ridge, trying to maintain visual reference, when the right wing struck the ridge slope. The airplane turned toward the terrain, and impacted the ground, receiving substantial damage to the wings and fuselage.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N83283
- Reported as
- Piper PA-18-150
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18-7609065
- Airframe hours
- 1,416
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320 SERIES, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Stott David L
- Registered owner
- Stott David L
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 18, 2011
- Departed
- Deadhorse, AK
- Destination
- Deadhorse, AK
- Flight plan
- Unknown
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
- 65
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 2,860 total · 350 in this make and model · 2,860 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 45 °F
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 16, 2011, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 584 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.