- Date
- February 10, 1994, 14:40 local (18:40 UTC)
- Place
- Anchorage, AK
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N288LSCessna 180A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 12, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19940210002029A
- Case key
- 2485
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 failure of the pilot-in-command to maintain directional control of the airplane during the landing rollout. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's lack of recent experience in the airplane.
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 reported that he carried some additional power during the landing phase to prevent shock cooling the plane's new engine. The winds were reported by the ATIS to be from 230 degrees at 4 knots. Shortly after touchdown, the plane began to veer to the right. Corrective action was applied and the aircraft veered to the left, departed the left side of the runway, and nosed over.
Factual narrative
On February 10, 1994, at 1440 Alaska standard time, a wheel equipped Cessna 180A airplane, N288LS, departed the side of runway 24 at the Merrill Field Airport, Anchorage, Alaska during the landing rollout and nosed over. The private certificated pilot-in-command, the sole occupant, was not injured, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The personal local flight, operating under 14 CFR Part 91, departed the Merrill Airport at approximately 1330. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed.
The pilot reported that for the approach/landing, he carried some additional engine power to prevent shock cooling the plane's new engine. The ATIS winds were 230 at 4 knots. Shortly after touchdown, the plane began to veer to the right. Corrective action was applied with no immediate result and the engine power was chopped. The plane then began to veer to the left dragging the left wing tip on the runway. The airplane departed the left side of the runway, proceeded through the snow, and nosed over onto its back coming to rest 20 to 30 feet from the edge of the runway.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N288LS
- Reported as
- Cessna 180A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 32953
- Airframe hours
- 4,255
- Engine
- Continental O-470L, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Mears, Willard A.
- Registered owner
- Mears, Willard A.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 11, 1993 · 10 hours before
- Departed
- MRI
- Airport
- MRI · Merrill Field, runway 24, 3,999 × 100 ft, asphalt
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
- 61
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,000 total · 1,000 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 230° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 80 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 21 °F, dew point 10 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MRI
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.