- Date
- August 28, 1993, 16:00 local (Aug 29, 1993, 00:00 UTC)
- Place
- Happy Valley, AK
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N6819LPiper PA-18
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 26, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19930828032049A
- Case key
- 2416
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 improper preflight planning/decision, and his failure to maintain directional control of the airplane. A factor was the rough/uneven terrain.
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, involved in a hunt/guide operation, stated that the airplane veered off to the left and he could not correct sufficiently before it went off the side of the takeoff area. Both main landing gear collapsed, and both wings and the fuselage were damaged. The pilot was attempting to takeoff with a passenger, from an unimproved remote site approximately 700 feet long.
Factual narrative
On August 28, 1993, at 1600 Alaska daylight time, the pilot of a wheel equipped Piper PA 18 airplane, N6819L, lost control of the airplane and crashed during an attempted takeoff from a remote strip located 21 miles west of Happy Valley, Alaska, and approximately 100 miles south of Deadhorse, Alaska. The private pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured, and the airplane was substantially damaged. The personal flight was operating under 14 CFR Part 91 when the accident occurred. Visual meteorological conditions existed, and a company flight plan was filed.
When the pilot reported the accident by telephone on August 30, 1993, he stated the following in part: "I was taking off from a tundra strip about 700 feet long. I had previously made 6 or 8 takeoffs and landings at that strip. I started the takeoff run with no flaps, then put in one notch of flaps when I got up some speed. The airplane did not seem to want to get airborne. I might have been a little late getting the tail off the ground. The airplane veered off the left and I could not correct sufficiently before it went off the side of the strip. The main landing gear collapsed, both wings were damaged, and the fuselage was twisted."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6819L
- Reported as
- Piper PA-18
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18-7409103
- Airframe hours
- 1,600
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-A2B, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Operator
- Watkins, Thomas F.
- Registered owner
- Watkins, Thomas F.
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 29, 1992 · 172 hours before
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
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
- 41
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 506 total · 483 in this make and model · 506 as pilot in command · 250 in the last 90 days · 80 in the last 30 days · 7 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 2,500 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 39 °F, dew point 41 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N6819L · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.