- Date
- September 11, 1989, 16:00 local (Sep 12, 1989, 00:00 UTC)
- Place
- Trading Bay, AK
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N3680ZPiper PA-18
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 18, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19890911034409A
- Case key
- 5257
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 selected unsuitable terrain for his intended landing area. Wet terrain/hydroplaning conditions in the initial touchdown area and an object (stump) contributed to the occurrence.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
According to the plt, he & the passenger flew to Trading Bay to duck hunt. He intended to land on a grassy flat where he had previously landed. There had been heavy rain in the area before he arrived & one to two inches of standing water was on the landing area. Drg the landing, his brakes were not effective, so he elected to go around. He rprtd that as the acft was lifting off to go around, it hit a stump, but continued flying. He had difficulty controlling the acft, so he discontinued the go-around & landed on tidal flats where the acft was further damaged.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3680Z
- Reported as
- Piper PA-18
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 187409
- Airframe hours
- 3,702
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- James Driskell
- Registered owner
- Driskell Aircraft Corp.
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 14, 1989 · 10 hours before
- Departed
- ANC · Anchorage, AK
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
- 25
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 301 total · 124 in this make and model · 253 as pilot in command · 24 in the last 90 days · 17 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 2,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 43 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N3680Z · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.