# NTSB ANC94LA012: Piper PA-18, N5285J, Haines, AK, October 5, 1993 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: October 5, 1993, 17:15 local (21:15 UTC) - Place: Haines, AK - Coordinates: 59.15974, -135.860778 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=59.1597&lon=-135.8608&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report May 23, 1994 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - NTSB case key (mKey): 2469 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC94LA012 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/2469/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC94LA012 ## Probable cause FATIGUE FAILURE IN A WELD ON THE RIGHT MAIN LANDING GEAR OLEO STRUT TUBING. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Main gear collapsed, landing - flare/touchdown - landing gear,main gear strut - fatigue (cause) ## Analysis THE PILOT REPORTED THAT HE FLARED ABOUT 3 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND, THEN HE 'CUT' THE THROTTLE & THE AIRPLANE 'DROPPED' ONTO THE TUNDRA. BOTH LANDING GEAR ASSEMBLIES COLLAPSED AS THE AIRPLANE TOUCHED DOWN. THE PILOT REPORTED THERE WAS A FRACTURE IN THE WELDED SECTION OF THE RIGHT OLEO STRUT TUBING. THE AIRPLANE WAS EQUIPPED WITH 30 INCH TUNDRA TIRES. ## Factual narrative On October 5, 1993, at 1715 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Piper PA-18 airplane, N5285J, owned and operated by the commercial rated pilot-in-command, crashed during a landing attempt at a remote landing site located approximately 4 miles north of Haines, Alaska. The pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The personal flight, operating under 14 CFR Part 91, last departed Haines, Alaska, at 1700 and the destination was the remote landing site. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a VFR flight plan was not filed. The pilot told the investigator-in-charge, during a telephone conversation, that he was surveying the area looking for mountain goats. During the landing attempt on the saddle back of the mountain, he flared too high and the airplane "dropped" onto the ground from a height estimated to be three to five feet. The airplane did not bounce. Both main landing gear structural assemblies collapsed. The airplane was equipped with 30 inch tundra tires. The pilot reported that his post accident inspection of the landing gear found a fracture in the welded section of the right oleo strut tubing. An inspection of the fuselage by the NTSB investigator-in-charge found a fracture in a longeron tube (a major structural member) in the area where the left forward landing gear ear attaches to the fuselage. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N5285J](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N5285J), registered now, S/N 18-7143, built 1959 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA-18 - Registry model: [Piper PA-18-150](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-18-150) (registry code 7101828) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming O&VO-360 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-o-vo-360-series) (registry code 41514, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 18-7143 - Airframe hours: 694 - Engines: LYCOMING O-360 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Campbell, George R. - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, September 22, 1993, 41 hours before ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 26; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine sea, multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; seat: left; flight hours: 1,350 total, 150 in this make and model, 1,120 as pilot in command, 140 in the last 90 days, 65 in the last 30 days, 3 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Night/dark - Wind: 330° at 3 knots - Visibility: 75 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 37 °F ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 19931005040139A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19931005040139A), Oct 5, 1993: Piper PA18150, Haines, AK, Substantial damage. Both main gear collapsed after bounced landing at remote strip. Fractures in longeron tubes. ## Other investigations on N5285J (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB ANC95LA021](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC95LA021), Dec 17, 1994: Piper PA-18 (N5285J), Juneau, AK, substantial damage. Probable cause: THE PILOT'S SELECTION OF UNSUITABLE TERRAIN FOR THE ATTEMPTED TAKEOFF. From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.