- Date
- September 1, 1996
- Place
- Tyonek, AK
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N4393ZPiper PA-18
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report December 15, 1997
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19960901025559A
- Case key
- 2888
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 premature liftoff and subsequent inadvertent stall.
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 landed the airplane at an off airport landing site. He attempt to take off from the area during the hours of dusk. He stated the airplane's tail lifted off the ground during the takeoff roll, and then the airplane lifted off prematurely. After becoming airborne, the airplane drifted to the right, then the left wing struck muskeg, and the airplane settled into brush. The pilot stated he tried to stop the drift by applying full left rudder and full left aileron. The pilot also stated he felt the airplane's right wing stalled.
Factual narrative
On September 1, 1996, at 2400 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Piper PA-18 airplane, N4393Z, registered to Allen Douglas Hulen, of Anchorage, Alaska, and operated by the pilot, crashed during takeoff from an off airport site adjacent to the Theodore River, located near Tyonek, Alaska. The personal flight, operating under 14 CFR Part 91, was departing during dusk, and the destination was Anchorage, Alaska. No flight plan was filed and visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The certificated private pilot and the passenger were not injured. The airplane was substantially damaged.
During a telephone conversation with the pilot, he stated that he was taking off from a road near the Theodore River. The airplane became airborne prematurely and drifted off the right side of the road. He was unable to stop the drift, despite the application of full left aileron and rudder. The left wing struck the muskeg and the airplane settled into the brush. He stated that the airplane was not ready to fly, and believes the right wing stalled.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4393Z
- Reported as
- Piper PA-18
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18-8724
- Airframe hours
- 2,784
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-A2B, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Allen Darrell Hulen
- Registered owner
- Allen Douglas Hulen
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 30, 1995
- Destination
- MRI · Anchorage, 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
- 36
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 286 total · 120 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 150° at 2 knots
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 50 °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 N4393Z · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.