# NTSB ANC11LA100: Piper PA-18A 150, N2694P, Galena, AK, September 8, 2011 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: September 8, 2011, 14:00 local (22:00 UTC) - Place: Galena, AK - Coordinates: 64.736114, -156.937225 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=64.7361&lon=-156.9372&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 May 21, 2012 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - Parties: FAA FSDO-01 - NTSB case key (mKey): 81757 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC11LA100 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/81757/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=81757 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC11LA100 ## Probable cause The total loss of engine power for undetermined reasons. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Not determined](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000): Not determined › Not determined · Unknown/Not determined (probable cause); cases with it: [Piper PA-18A 150, 6 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000/cases.md?model=7101837), [All aircraft, 2,247 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Enroute-cruise: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341); cases with it: [Piper PA-18A 150, 5 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md?model=7101837), [All aircraft, 3,820 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md) - [Emergency descent: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341); cases with it: [Piper PA-18A 150, 5 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md?model=7101837), [All aircraft, 3,820 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md) - [Landing-landing roll: Nose over/nose down](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096) (defining event); cases with it: [Piper PA-18A 150, 12 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096/sequence.md?model=7101837), [All aircraft, 2,287 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot was on a personal cross-country flight after departing a remote hunting camp when the engine lost power; the pilot landed on the tundra, and the airplane nosed over. The airplane received substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer and empennage. The pilot said that the accident flight was the second flight of the day. Earlier in the day he had attempted the flight but was forced back to the camp by weather. He had borrowed the airplane for the hunting trip and was unfamiliar with the fuel system. The airplane was equipped with modified fuel tanks and a digital fuel totalizer. The pilot was unable to visually check the fuel quantity in the tanks due to the design, but according to the totalizer he should have had enough fuel for the trip. Due to the remote location, the airplane was not examined by the NTSB, and thus no determination was made as to why the engine lost power. Due to the lack of temperature and dew point data, it could not be determined if carburetor icing was a factor in the power loss. The reporting weather station is 60 miles away and the data would probably not be useful. ## Factual narrative On September 8, 2011, about 1400 Alaska daylight time, a Piper PA-18A-150 airplane, N2694P, sustained substantial damage during an off-airport emergency landing, about 60 miles southeast of Galena, Alaska, following a complete loss of engine power. The airplane was being operated by the pilot as a personal cross-country flight under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 91, when the accident occurred. The solo pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed. The airplane had departed a hunting camp en route to Galena about 1340. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) on September 12, the pilot said the accident flight was the second flight of the day. Earlier in the day he had attempted to fly to Galena, but was forced back to the camp by weather. The pilot had borrowed the airplane for the hunting trip, and was unfamiliar with the fuel system. The airplane was equipped with modified fuel tanks and a digital fuel totalizer. He said the design of the tanks precluded visual inspection of the fuel quantity, but according to the totalizer, he should have had enough fuel for the trip. After the loss of engine power, the pilot attempted to land on the tundra, and the airplane nosed over. During the nose over, the airplane received substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer and empennage. Due to the remote location the airplane was not examined by the NTSB, and thus no determination of why the engine lost power could be made. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N2694P](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N2694P), registered now, S/N 18-4382 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA-18A 150 - Registry model: [Piper PA-18A 150](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-18a-150) (registry code 7101837) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-320 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (registry code 41508, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 18-4382 - Engines: LYCOMING O-360 SERIES 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: George Campbell - Registered owner: Bingham Lawrence F - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, August 31, 2011 - Departed: Galena, AK - Destination: GAL, Galena, AK ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 44; injuries: none; airline transport; airplane ratings: single-engine sea, multi-engine sea, single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, without waivers/limitations; seat: front; flight hours: 5,400 total, 5,000 as pilot in command, 75 in the last 90 days, 30 in the last 30 days, 3 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Visibility: 1 statute miles ## 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 20110908022929A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20110908022929A), Sep 8, 2011: Piper PA-18A 150, Galena, AK, Substantial damage. On September 28, 2011, at approximately 13:46 hours [privacy data omitted] was interviewed via telephone by inspector gregory w. horrell of the federal… ## Docket (1 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 23, 2012, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=81757. 2.2 MB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 2.2 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40366715&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. --- 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.