- Date
- September 23, 2022, 11:00 local (19:00 UTC)
- Place
- Chignik Lake, AK
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N4144EPiper PA-18-150
- Defining event
- Taxi-from runway: Nose over/nose down
- 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
- Case key
- 106000
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 failure to maintain airplane control during taxi in gusty conditions, which resulted in a nose-over and substantial damage to the rudder and wings.
Findings · 3
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
According to the pilot, after he landed, he taxied the airplane to the top of the hill to pick up a load he was going to transport and then past it to turn the airplane around. He turned the airplane slowly to maintain control, and then taxied down the hill back to the load and noted the wind was now a tailwind. The pilot applied the brakes to stop the airplane, but the wind lifted the tail, and the airplane nosed over, resulting in substantial damage to the rudder and wings. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4144E
- Reported as
- Piper PA-18-150
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18-7809084
- Built
- 1978
- Airframe hours
- 5,260.1
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A2A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Other work use · Part 91
- Operator
- Tradewind LLC, doing business as Glacier Air, LLC
- Registered owner
- Tradewind LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · August 26, 2022
- Departed
- KCL · Chignik Lagoon, AK
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
- Airport
- NONE · Fan Creek
- Equipment
- 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
- 51
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- November 19, 2021
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 2,512 total · 2,111 in this make and model · 2,455 as pilot in command · 322 in the last 90 days · 74 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 30° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 48 °F, dew point 37 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.52 inHg
- Observed at
- PAJC, 16 nm away
- METAR
- PAJC 231857Z AUTO 03005KT 10SM CLR 09/03 A2952 RMK AO2 SLP997 T00940033 PNO $
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 21, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.8 MB in all.