ANC94LA040

The pilot decided to land on the highway alongside the shelton airstrip because the snow conditions appeared to be better on the highway than on the airstrip. During the landing the pilot noted a high snow berm on the left side of the roadway and while avoiding the left berm the right wheel encountered deep snow. The airplane swerved to the right into the deep snow and overturned.

On March 18, 1994, at 0850 Alaska standard time, a wheel-equipped Cessna 180 airplane, N2423F, operated by K. O. Air of Anchorage, Alaska, lost directional control during a highway landing, collided with a snow berm and overturned. The commercial pilot and his three family members on board had departed Anchorage at 0750 on a VFR flight plan to McCarthy, Alaska. Cancelling the flight plan at 0841, the pilot was attempting a landing on the Glenn Highway alongside the Skelton Airstrip at the Eureka Lodge when the accident occurred. The personal flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91 in visual meteorological conditions. The airplane sustained substantial damage and there were no injuries.

The pilot told the NTSB that during roll-out on the highway he encountered a high snow berm shoulder on the left, previously not discernable from overhead. Avoiding the left snow berm, his right main wheel dug into deep snow on the right side, and he lost directional control resulting in the collision with the right snow berm.

He said that the airplane was equipped with 24 inch balloon tires and that the highway was clean and bare. He also said that he chose the highway due to the snow condition on the Skelton Strip across from the lodge.