- Date
- October 6, 1993, 14:00 local (22:00 UTC)
- Place
- Aniak, AK
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N8479YPiper PA-18-160
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 30, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19931006045389A
- Case key
- 2464
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 failure to compensate for the wind conditions. The gusty wind was a factor.
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-in-command stated that he was landing on a ridge line when a gust of wind slammed the airplane onto the landing area. There are no weather reporting facilities in the area. The pilot indicated the wind was from the east at 10 to 15 knots.
Factual narrative
On October 6, 1993 at 1400 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Piper PA-18-160 airplane, N8479Y, registered to and operated by the Pilot-in-Command, crashed during landing on a mountain ridge located 25 miles southeast of Aniak, Alaska, on the Buckstock River. The business flight, operating under 14 CFR Part 91, last departed a field site in the local area and the destination was the accident site. No flight plan was filed and visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The Private Certificated Pilot-in-Command and passenger, the sole occupants, were not injured and the airplane was substantially damaged.
According to the Pilot-in-Command, he was landing on a mountain ridge with a quartering headwind. The landing area was 500 to 600 feet in length with a field elevation of 2,500 feet. On short final the airplane began to settle and it hit the landing area hard causing damage to the airplane. The Pilot-in-Command stated he is a registered hunting guide.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8479Y
- Reported as
- Piper PA-18-160
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 188876
- Airframe hours
- 3,345
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-A20, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Operator
- Katzmarek, Clay
- Registered owner
- Katzmarek, Clay M.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 10, 1993 · 95 hours before
- Departed
- Unk/Nr
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
- 36
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 1,656 total · 1,500 in this make and model · 185 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 10 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 39 °F
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 N8479Y · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.