- Date
- September 21, 1992, 16:30 local (Sep 22, 1992, 00:30 UTC)
- Place
- Fairbanks, AK
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N1654GChampion 7GCBC
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 26, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19920921042219A
- Case key
- 5822
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 preflight planning/preparation in accessing the available runway length and snow conditions. Factors relating to the accident were the snow bank and the pilot in command's lack of familiarity with skiplane operations.
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
The pilot had arrived at the remote strip 11 days earlier having 40 hours total experience in make and model and 6 hours in past 90 days. The snow with a depth of 2 feet had been plowed 10 feet wide on half the runway at the departure end. During the ski takeoff the airplane became prematurely airborne on the plowed berm and nosed over when its right ski dug into the snow pile shoulder.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1654G
- Reported as
- Champion 7GCBC
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 123
- Airframe hours
- 2,123
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320 A2B, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Theodore A. Wicken
- Registered owner
- Theodore A. Wicken
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Aerobatic; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 8, 1992 · 27 hours before
- Departed
- Blair Lake, AK
- Destination
- FAI · Fairbanks, AK
- Airport
- Blair Lakes Landing Strip
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
- 62
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 1,180 total · 40 in this make and model · 1,060 as pilot in command · 6 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 330° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 30 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.