- Date
- April 19, 1997, 12:10 local (20:10 UTC)
- Place
- Delta Junction, AK
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N4217VCessna 170
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 29, 1998
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19970419006209A
- Case key
- 2992
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
failure of the pilot to maintain directional control of the airplane.
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 non-certificated pilot was landing a tail-wheel equipped airplane after completion of a local flight. After touchdown, the airplane began to drift toward the right. The pilot corrected toward the left, and the airplane began to ground loop. The right main gear leg broke at a hole drilled through the bottom of the gear strut where the brake mechanism was normally attached. The gear then collapsed. The right wing struck the ground and received damage to the right wing spar and several wing ribs. The pilot did not possess a pilot or medical certificate. He had accrued about 600 hrs of flight experience.
Factual narrative
On April 19, 1997, about 1210 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Cessna 170, N4217V, crashed during landing at Delta Junction, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) local area personal flight when the accident occurred. The airplane, registered to and operated by the pilot, sustained substantial damage. The non-certificated pilot, and the sole passenger, were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed.
On April 19, 1997, at 1330, the pilot reported in a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), that he was landing on runway 08. After touchdown, the airplane began to drift toward the right. The pilot corrected toward the left and the airplane began to ground loop. The right main gear leg broke at a hole drilled through the bottom of the gear strut where the brake mechanism is normally attached. The gear then collapsed. The right wing struck the ground and received damage to the right wing spar and several wing ribs.
The pilot indicated he does not possess a pilot's certificate, or a medical certificate. He reported that he has accrued about 600 hours of flight experience.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4217V
- Reported as
- Cessna 170
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18573
- Engine
- Continental C-145-2, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Thomas J. Waggoner
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 17, 1997
- Departed
- D66
- Airport
- D66 · Delta Junction, runway 8, 2,400 × 60 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
- 53
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 600 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 100° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 25 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- 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 N4217V · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.