- Date
- May 27, 1993, 14:30 local (22:30 UTC)
- Place
- Wasilla, AK
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N4388ZPiper PA-18-150
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 30, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19930527015449A
- Case key
- 2343
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 in command's inadvertent ground loop.
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 just performed a full stop landing after doing a number of touch and go landings. As he was rolling to a stop the airplane began to veer to the right and his control corrections had no effect. The airplane left the side of the runway and nosed over. Examination of the wheel and brake system showed no mechanical irregularities. The airplane was equipped with 29 inch tires.
Factual narrative
On May 27, 1993, at 1430 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Piper PA 18 150 airplane, N4388Z, registered to the Pilot in Command, veered to the right, ran off the side of the runway, and nosed over in the ditch at the New Wasilla Airport, Wasilla, Alaska. The personal flight, operating under 14 CFR Part 91, last departed Palmer, Alaska, and the destination was Wasilla. No flight plan was filed and visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The airplane was substantially damaged and the Pilot in Command, the sole occupant, was not injured.
According to the Pilot in Command, after arriving at Wasilla he did some touch and go landings and he was rolling out on his last landing when the airplane veered to the right and the airplane left the runway and nosed over in the ditch. The airplane was equipped with 29 inch Goodyear tires.
According to Austin Coller, Aviation Safety Inspector for FAA, FSDO 03, Anchorage, Alaska, examination of the wheel and brake system showed no mechanical irregularities.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4388Z
- Reported as
- Piper PA-18-150
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18-8714
- Airframe hours
- 1,977
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-B2B, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Cline, Epton D.
- Registered owner
- Cline, Epton D.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 5, 1992 · 32 hours before
- Departed
- PAQ · Palmer, AK
- Airport
- WAS · New Wasilla Airport, runway 21, 3,700 × 75 ft, gravel
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
- 52
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 143 total · 25 in this make and model · 66 as pilot in command · 5 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 210° at 3 knots, gusting 5
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 68 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.