- Date
- April 26, 1996, 17:00 local (Apr 27, 1996, 01:00 UTC)
- Place
- Kotzebue, AK
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N2598PPiper PA-18
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 25, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19960426026479A
- Case key
- 2829
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 inadequate compensation for the wind conditions. A factor in the accident was the gusty wind conditions.
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 encountered a gust of wind from the right side just before touchdown. He landed the airplane hard on the left ski and the left ski broke off. The airplane's left wing dragged the snow and the airplane veered left. The right ski dug into the snow and the right wing dragged the snow damaging the wing, wing struts, and fuselage.
Factual narrative
On April 26, 1996, at 1700 Alaska daylight time, a ski equipped Piper PA-18 airplane, N2598P, registered to and operated by the pilot, landed hard and dragged the left wing followed by the right wing during landing at a field site, 60 miles north of Kotzebue, Alaska, located at geographic coordinates 68 degrees, 13 minutes north, and 160 degrees, 57 minutes west. The business flight, operating under 14 CFR Part 91 for the purposes of hunt guiding, departed a field site on the Noatak River and the destination was the location of the accident site. No flight plan was filed and visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The certificated commercial pilot and his passenger were not injured and the airplane was substantially damaged.
During a telephone conversation with the pilot on April 27, 1996, he stated that he encountered a gust of wind during landing and the airplane landed hard on the left ski. The left ski broke off and the left wing dragged the snow. This caused the airplane to veer left and the right ski dug into the snow. The right wing dragged the snow damaging the wing, wing struts, and fuselage.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2598P
- Reported as
- Piper PA-18
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 184346
- Airframe hours
- 4,170
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-B2B, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Registered owner
- David J. Leonard
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 19, 1996 · 88 hours before
- Departed
- Noatak River, AK
- Destination
- Near Kotzebue, 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
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 2,648 total · 2,080 in this make and model · 2,432 as pilot in command · 166 in the last 90 days · 31 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 330° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 99 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- -0 °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 N2598P · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.