- Date
- April 21, 2014, 19:05 local (Apr 22, 2014, 03:05 UTC)
- Place
- Kenai, AK
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N9299DPiper PA 18A 150
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 18, 2014
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- Case key
- 89116
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 loss of directional control during takeoff, resulting in a collision with terrain and ground loop.
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 taking off from a sloping beach in his tailwheel-equipped airplane. The pilot stated that the tide had come in, narrowing his takeoff path. During the takeoff roll, the airplane's right main landing gear tire hit an object on the beach, the airplane pivoted to the left, and the left wing struck a group of alders. The airplane ground looped, sustaining substantial damage to the right wing and horizontal stabilizer. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
The pilot was taking off from a sloping beach in his tailwheel-equipped airplane. The pilot stated that the tide had come in, narrowing his takeoff path. During the takeoff roll, the airplane's right main landing gear tire hit an object on the beach, the airplane pivoted to the left, and the left wing struck a group of alders. The airplane ground looped, sustaining substantial damage to the right wing and horizontal stabilizer. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9299D
- Reported as
- Piper PA 18A 150 (A150)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18-6606
- Built
- 1958
- Airframe hours
- 3,017
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320 SERIES, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 1, 2013 · 85 hours before
- Departed
- PABV · Chugiak, AK
- Destination
- Kenai, AK
- Flight plan
- VFR
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
- 34
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- April 11, 2014
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 174 total · 156 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 350° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 55 °F, dew point 28 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.93 inHg
- Observed at
- PAEN, 50 nm away
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 2, 2014, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 553 KB in all.
Other investigations on N9299D · 3
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.