- Date
- August 15, 1996, 19:30 local (Aug 16, 1996, 03:30 UTC)
- Place
- Anchorage, AK
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N9272DPiper PA-18
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 29, 1997
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19960815024089A
- Case key
- 2881
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 misjudgment of distance and altitude to the runway during the approach, and failure to attain the proper touchdown point. A factor relating to the accident was: the ditch.
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 a tundra tire, tailwheel-equipped airplane on a gravel airstrip. The airplane developed a high rate of descent. The pilot added power to begin a go-around but the airplane touched down about 180 feet short of the runway threshold in a rutted area. The airplane then collided with a ditch in tall grass and nosed over.
Factual narrative
On August 15, 1996, about 1930 Alaska daylight time, a tundra tire equipped Piper PA-18, N9272D, crashed during landing at Lake Hood Strip, Anchorage, 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 Northway airport, Northway, Alaska, at 1530, as a continuation of a flight from Teslin, Yukon Territories, Canada.
On August 16, 1996, at 1510, the pilot reported in a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) that he was on a landing approach to runway 31. The pilot indicated that his descent rate was excessive and he added power to begin a go-around. The airplane landed about 180 feet short of the runway threshold in a rutted area and collided with a ditch in tall grass. The airplane then nosed over.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9272D
- Reported as
- Piper PA-18
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18-6573
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Lawrence A. Smith
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 2, 1996 · 49 hours before
- Departed
- ORT · Northway, AK
- Destination
- Z41
- Airport
- Z41 · Lake Hood Strip, runway 31, 2,200 × 70 ft, gravel
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
- 54
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 1,914 total · 745 in this make and model · 52 in the last 90 days · 23 in the last 30 days · 8 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 59 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- LHD, 1 nm away
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 N9272D · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.