- Date
- September 2, 1994, 19:00 local (Sep 3, 1994, 03:00 UTC)
- Place
- Port Alsworth, AK
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N51637Maule M5
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report May 9, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19940902025369A
- Case key
- 2560
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 selection of unsuitable 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 stated that he was landing on a ridge and the landing area was rougher than he expected. Upon landing the main gear collapsed and the wheels bent the wing struts.
Factual narrative
On September 2, 1994, at 1900 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Maule M5, airplane, N51637, registered to and operated by the pilot, collapsed its main gear during landing at a field site located 30 miles northwest of Port Alsworth, Alaska. The personal flight, operating under 14 CFR Part 91 for the purposes of hunting, departed Merrill Field, Anchorage, Alaska, and the destination was the accident site. A VFR flight plan was filed and visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The airplane received substantial damage and the pilot and the two passengers were not injured.
According to the pilot, he landed on a ridge and the surface was rougher than he expected. The main gear collapsed and bent the wing struts during the landing roll.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N51637
- Reported as
- Maule M5
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 5026L
- Airframe hours
- 1,495
- Engine
- Franklin 6A-350-L1, 220 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Litton, Andrew
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 23, 1993 · 160 hours before
- Departed
- MRI · Anchorage, AK
- Flight plan
- VFR
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 37
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 180 total · 165 in this make and model · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 50 °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.