- Date
- July 3, 2021, 23:00 local (Jul 4, 2021, 07:00 UTC)
- Place
- Talkeetna, AK
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N82547Piper PA-18-150
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Loss of control on ground
- 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
- FAA report
- 20210703012539A
- Case key
- 103464
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 improper flight control inputs which resulted in a loss of directional control and a nose-over.
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 of the tailwheel-equipped airplane reported that during takeoff he pushed forward aggressively on the control stick which resulted in a nose-down pitching moment exacerbated by fuel sloshing forward in the wing fuel tanks. In an effort to correct for the pitching moment, he pulled aft on the control stick which caused the tailwheel to impact the ground and the airplane veered to the left. Unable to correct for the veer, he applied the brakes too hard which resulted in a nose-over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right lift strut and vertical stabilizer. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation, and that the accident may have been prevented if he had been less aggressive when applying flight control inputs.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N82547
- Reported as
- Piper PA-18-150
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18-7909003
- Built
- 1978
- Engine
- Lycoming 0-320 SERIES, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- B407 LLC
- Registered owner
- B407 LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 22, 2020
- Destination
- 4AK6 · Wasilla, AK
- Airport
- AK19 · Carl'S Landing, runway 16/34, 2,500 × 75 ft, grass/turf
- Equipment
- ADS-B, Electronic flight bag or handheld device
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
- 71
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- August 7, 2020
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 2,810 total · 150 in this make and model · 2,810 as pilot in command · 60 in the last 90 days · 18 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 6,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 55 °F, dew point 46 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.22 inHg
- Observed at
- PATK, 9 nm away
- METAR
- PATK 040653Z AUTO 00000KT 10SM OVC060 13/08 A3022 RMK AO2 SLP237 T01330078 TSNO
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 12, 2021, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.2 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.