- Date
- October 19, 1995, 18:00 local (Oct 20, 1995, 02:00 UTC)
- Place
- Girdwood, AK
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N3183ZPiper PA-18
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 29, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19951019037199A
- Case key
- 2782
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 for landing. Soft sandy terrain was a related 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 certificated private pilot was landing on a remote gravel bar that had recently been covered by sand. The landing area was about 600 feet long. During the landing roll, the main wheels sank into soft sand, and the airplane nosed over. The airplane received damage to the vertical stabilizer, rudder, propeller, and a wing lift strut.
Factual narrative
On October 19, 1995, about 1800 Alaska daylight time, a tundra tire equipped Piper PA-18, N3183Z, crashed during landing in the Lake George area, about 18 miles northeast of Girdwood, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) cross-country personal flight when the accident occurred. The airplane, registered to and operated by the pilot, sustained substantial damage. The certificated private pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight originated at the Butte Municipal airport, Palmer, Alaska, about 1600.
The pilot reported that he was landing on a remote gravel bar that had recently been covered by sand. The landing area was about 600 feet long. The pilot landed to the south and during the landing roll, the main wheels sank into soft sand and the airplane nosed over. The airplane received damage to the vertical stabilizer, rudder, propeller, and a wing lift strut. The pilot was rescued the following day after he activated the airplane's emergency locator transmitter (ELT).
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3183Z
- Reported as
- Piper PA-18
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18-7174
- Airframe hours
- 5,084
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Lyle F. Hanson
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 1, 1995 · 106 hours before
- Departed
- AK01 · Palmer, AK
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
- 38
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 1,687 total · 1,130 in this make and model · 1,660 as pilot in command · 54 in the last 90 days · 25 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 6,000 ft overcast
- 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 N3183Z · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.