- Date
- July 20, 2019, 16:57 local (Jul 21, 2019, 00:57 UTC)
- Place
- Skwentna, AK
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N6PFPiper PA19
- Defining event
- Approach-VFR go-around: Collision during takeoff/land
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20190720015579A
- Case key
- 99907
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 a go-around and his failure to assess the wind conditions appropriately before a landing attempt.
Findings · 4
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 reported that during an approach to land at a remote airstrip, while on short final, the head wind changed to a tail wind and he began to lose control authority of the airplane. He initiated a go-around and applied full throttle, and the airplane rolled left. The pilot was unable to control the airplane due to the slow airspeed, and the airplane impacted a tree on the left side of the runway. The fuselage and right wing sustained substantial damage and the passenger sustained serious injuries. The pilot reported that the airplane had no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation and that the accident could have been prevented had he taken more time to assess the weather conditions and ultimately decide not to land at the challenging airstrip.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6PF
- Reported as
- Piper PA19 (L18C)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18-2007
- Built
- 1952
- Airframe hours
- 1,851.7
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 21, 2019
- Departed
- LHD · Anchorage, AK
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- 1AK8 · Talaheim, runway 36, 950 × 35 ft, dirt
- Equipment
- None
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
- 31
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 8,068.1 total · 3,735.1 in this make and model · 8,022.2 as pilot in command · 170.1 in the last 90 days · 50.9 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 4,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 55 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.10 inHg
- Observed at
- PANC, 50 nm away
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 3, 2021, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.0 MB 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.