- Date
- February 20, 2012, 19:20 local (23:20 UTC)
- Place
- Anchorage, AK
- Injuries
- 4 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N6147BCessna 182A
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Nose over/nose down
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Status
- Completed · report May 21, 2012
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration – Operations
- FAA report
- 20120220002819A
- Case key
- 82942
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 inadvertent landing on a frozen lake in dark night 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 was cleared to land his wheel-equipped airplane at a lighted gravel airstrip at night, when he mistakenly landed on a frozen, snow-covered lake used by ski-equipped airplanes. The lake was adjacent to the airstrip. During the landing roll, the airplane's wheels contacted deep snow, and it nosed over, sustaining substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. Airport rescue personnel reported that, when they arrived on scene, the pilot said that he had landed on the airstrip and that he was unaware that he had inadvertently landed on a frozen lake. He also said that he was familiar with the airstrip, as he had flown in and out of the airstrip for many years. The pilot indicated that there were no mechanical anomalies with the airplane.
Factual narrative
The pilot was cleared to land his wheel-equipped airplane at a lighted gravel airstrip, at night, when he mistakenly landed on a frozen, snow-covered lake used by ski-equipped airplanes. The lake was adjacent to the airstrip. During the landing roll, the airplane's wheels contacted deep snow, and it nosed over, sustaining substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. Airport rescue personnel reported when they arrived on scene, the pilot said that he had landed on the airstrip, and he was unaware that he had inadvertently landed on a frozen lake. The pilot indicated that there were no mechanical anomalies with the airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6147B
- Reported as
- Cessna 182A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 34147
- Engine
- Cont Motor O-470 SERIES, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Northcott Thomas J
- Registered owner
- Northcott Thomas J
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 1, 2010 · 30 hours before
- Departed
- PAXS · Soldotna, AK
- Destination
- Z41 · Anchorage, AK
- Airport
- Z41 · Lake Hood Strip, runway 31, 2,200 × 70 ft, gravel
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
- 53
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,400 total · 1,200 in this make and model · 1,400 as pilot in command · 15 in the last 90 days · 15 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 5,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 28 °F
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 23, 2012, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 833 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 N6147B · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.