ANC93LA089

NTSB accident investigation · Piper PA-3 · Knik, AK · June 12, 1993

Accident · Minor injuriesLimited investigationFinal report
Date
June 12, 1993, 10:30 local (18:30 UTC)
Place
Knik, AK
Injuries
1 minor, 1 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Landing
Aircraft
N91952Piper PA-3
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed · report June 30, 1994
Report
Approved by Office Director
NTSB office
Alaska Regional Office
FAA report
19930612018059A
Case key
2357

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

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Probable cause

The improper use of the flight controls by the student pilot and inadequate supervision by the CFI pilot-in-command.

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.

Loss of control - on ground/waterLanding - roll
Flight controls - improper use ofDual studentCause
Supervision - inadequatePilot in command(cfi)Cause

Analysis

The instructional flight, with the student pilot at the controls, had just completed several full stop wheel landings at the airport. On the accident flight, the student retarded the throttle to idle and began erratic longitudinal control on the landing rollout. The instructor pilot initiated left rudder to straighten directional control and applied elevator control to get the tailwheel on the ground at the same time that the student depressed the brake pedals. The airplane proceeded to go up onto its nose and over onto its back. Prior to the mishap flight, the instructor told the student that the airplane was equipped with dual puck cleveland brakes, that the brakes were very sensitive, and as such to stay off the brakes.

Factual narrative

On June 12, 1993, at 1030 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Piper PA3 Cub airplane, N91952, flown by the student pilot on board the airplane, crashed during the landing rollout on runway 25 at Goose Bay Airport, Alaska. The flight instructor, who was also the pilot in command of the flight, received minor injuries, the student pilot was not injured, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The flight, which originated at Merrill Field in Anchorage, Alaska, earlier in the day, was being conducted under 14 CFR Part 91 for the purpose of providing flight instruction to the student pilot who had recently purchased the airplane. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a VFR flight plan was not filed.

The flight instructor and the student pilot were interviewed on separate occasions via telephone by the NTSB investigator in charge. Both individuals reported that shortly before the mishap, the student had completed several full stop wheel landings at the Goose Bay Airport. The instructor alerted the student to the fact that the airplane was equipped with dual puck Cleveland brakes, that the brakes were very sensitive, and as such to stay off the brakes. On the accident flight, the student retarded the throttle to idle and began erratic longitudinal control on the rollout. The instructor said that he used left rudder to straighten the directional control and elevator control to get the tailwheel on the ground at the same time that the student applied the brakes. The airplane proceeded to go up onto its nose and over onto its back.

Aircraft

Registration
N91952
Reported as
Piper PA-3
Category
Airplane
Serial number
16372
Airframe hours
3,500
Engine
Continental C85, 85 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Instructional · Part 91
Operator
Tanner, John
Registered owner
Tanner, John
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Departed
MRI · Merrill Field, AK
Destination
Z40 · Goose Bay, AK
Airport
Z40 · Goose Bay, runway 25, 3,000 × 50 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
43
Certificates
Commercial, Flight instructor
Airplane ratings
Single-engine land, Single-engine sea, Multi-engine land
Instrument ratings
Airplane
Medical
Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
Seat
Rear
Flight hours
4,591 total · 350 in this make and model · 98 in the last 90 days · 41 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
Calm
Visibility
50 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
None
Temperature
64 °F

FAA reports on this event · 1

The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.