# NTSB ANC96LA132: Piper PA-28-140, N6119W, Dillingham, AK, August 17, 1996

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report
- Date: August 17, 1996, 12:00 local (20:00 UTC)
- Place: Dillingham, AK
- Coordinates: 58.820938, -157.859756 (estimated)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=58.8209&lon=-157.8598&mi=10
- Phase of flight: [Taxi](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/250) (OpenAirDocs' grouping)
- Highest injury: No injuries
- Injuries: 2 uninjured
- Status: Completed, report August 29, 1997
- Report: Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office
- NTSB case key (mKey): 2887
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC96LA132
- NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/2887/pdf
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC96LA132

## Probable cause

The pilot's selection of unsuitable terrain for landing.  Soft terrain was a factor in the accident

## Sequence of events

In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf).

- On ground/water encounter with terrain/water, taxi - from landing
  - terrain condition - soft (contributing factor)
  - unsuitable terrain or takeoff/landing/taxi area - selected, pilot in command (cause)

## Analysis

The pilot, holder of a student pilot certificate, and the sole passenger, landed on a section of remote ocean beach. During the landing roll, the nose wheel sank in soft sand. The airplane received damage to the nose gear, propeller, engine firewall, and right wing.

## Factual narrative

On August 17, 1996, about 1200 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Piper PA-28-140, N6119W, crashed during landing on a remote beach, about 40 miles south of Dillingham, Alaska.  The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) personal flight when the accident occurred.  The airplane, registered to Joseph Clark, Clarks Point, Alaska, and operated by the pilot, sustained substantial damage.  The pilot, holder of a student pilot certificate, and the sole passenger, were not injured.  Visual meteorological conditions prevailed.

A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, Anchorage Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) reported that the airplane accident was reported by the pilot of a passing airplane.  The FAA received information that the accident airplane pilot landed on a soft beach area near Cape Constantine in the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge.  During the landing roll, the nose wheel sank in soft sand.  The airplane received damage to the nose gear, propeller, engine firewall, and right wing.  The pilot submitted a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) pilot/operator form 6120.1/2.  He did not provide any information concerning the airplane history or his flight time.

## Aircraft

- Registration: [N6119W](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N6119W-2017-07-14), registration cancelled 2017-07-14, S/N 28-20135, built 1964 (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: Piper PA-28-140
- Registry model: [Piper PA-28-140](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-28-140) (registry code 7102802) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-320 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (registry code 41508, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs)
- Category: Airplane
- Serial number: 28-20135
- Engines: Lycoming O-320 150 horsepower reciprocating
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Flight: Personal, Part 91
- Operator: Anthony H. Clark
- Registered owner: Joseph L. Clark
- Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal

## Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

- Pilot; age 37; student; medical: class 3, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; seat: left

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day
- Wind: 135° at 10 knots
- Lowest ceiling: none

## FAA reports on this event (1)

The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs).

- [Accident 19960817025829A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19960817025829A), Aug 17, 1996: Piper PA28140, Dillingham, AK, Substantial damage. Landed on a soft beach, nose sank in soft sand. Damage gear prop firewall and wing. Student had a passenger.

## Other investigations on N6119W (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB ANC00LA041](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC00LA041), Apr 12, 2000: Piper PA-28 (N6119W), Aleknagik, AK, substantial damage. Probable cause: The first pilot's (pilot-in-command) inadequate evaluation of the weather, and failure to maintain an adequate altitude above the ground. Factors in the accident were low ceilings, and snow-covered…

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

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