- Date
- October 17, 1992, 15:29 local (23:29 UTC)
- Place
- Seward, AK
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N1660APiper PA-22
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 28, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19921017042419A
- Case key
- 5847
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 NTSB’s determination of the probable cause, and any contributing factors.
The pilots failure to maintain directional control on the ground. Contributing to the accident was the pilots failure to maintain airspeed during the takeoff climb, his inadequate training, his lack of total experience, and the ditch.
Analysis
A witness to the accident stated that 'the airplane took off in a very nose high attitude, quit flying, and fell to the ground.' Then the airplane went off the left side of the runway and crashed into a large ditch. The unlicensed pilot said he could not remember exactly what happened. The pilot said he had never had any official flight instruction, but had flown three times with a friend during the previous year. The pilot also said this was his second solo flight.
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.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1660A
- Reported as
- Piper PA-22
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 22-429
- Engine
- Lycoming O-290-D, 125 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Bailey, Oscar H.
- Registered owner
- Bailey, Oscar H.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 30, 1980
- Departed
- SWD
- Airport
- SWD · Seward, runway 17, 5,000 × 100 ft, asphalt
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
- 64
- Seat
- Left
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 170° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 37 °F, dew point 28 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SWD, 1 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.