- Date
- September 6, 2021, 13:30 local (21:30 UTC)
- Place
- Tyonek, AK
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N149AKPiper PA-12
- Defining event
- Landing: 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
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20210906015399A
- Case key
- 103846
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 selection of inappropriate terrain and decision to land with a tailwind, which resulted in a loss of directional control, an attempted go-around, and subsequent impact with terrain.
Findings · 5
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 he was landing off-airport, uphill, with a quartering tailwind. After touchdown, as the airplane began to slow, he began to have a loss of directional control. He attempted a go-around but had insufficient airspeed to attain an altitude to clear the approaching terrain. Subsequently, the airplane impacted the soft gravel terrain, the right main landing gear collapsed, and the airplane came to rest upright. A postaccident examination revealed substantial damage sustained to the right-wing spar. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N149AK
- Reported as
- Piper PA-12
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 121338
- Built
- 1946
- Airframe hours
- 4,010.5
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A4A, 180 hp, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 1, 2020
- Departed
- PAMR · Anchorage, AK
- Equipment
- ADS-B, Handheld GPS
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
- 48
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- March 2, 2021
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 3,475 total · 260 in this make and model · 3,387 as pilot in command · 148 in the last 90 days · 50 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 57 °F, dew point 46 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.90 inHg
- Observed at
- PAEN, 48 nm away
- METAR
- PAEN 062053Z 24006KT 10SM FEW030 14/08 A2990 RMK AO2 SLP127 T01440078 51013
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.