- Date
- March 29, 1992, 17:53 local (21:53 UTC)
- Place
- Kenai, AK
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N82757Piper PA-28-161
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 14, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19920329007769A
- Case key
- 5707
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
Terrain clearance was not maintained. Factors to the accident were: snow covered hilly terrain, and diverted attention.
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
While flying over the terrain at approximately 200 feet AGL, the pilot thought that the snow covered terrain was flat. One of the passengers asked the pilot how FAR it was to homer, AK. As the pilot was dialing in the frequency on the loran, the front seat passenger called out the pilot's name. The pilot pulled back hard on the yoke and a 'jolt' was felt. The pilot increased altitude to assess the damage before returning to the airport. The pilot asked for a low fly by to have tower personnel look at the landing gear. The tower personnel reported that the landing gear was not extended. The pilot informed the tower that the landing gear was not retractable and declared an emergency. The airplane was then belly landed.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N82757
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-161
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-8116054
- Airframe hours
- 1,935
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-D3G, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Tapp, Michael A.
- Registered owner
- Tapp, Michael A.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 3, 1991 · 39 hours before
- Departed
- SXQ · Soldotna, AK
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- ENA · Kenai, runway 1, 7,575 × 150 ft, concrete
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
- 49
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 210 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 70 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 27 °F, dew point 12 °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.