- Date
- July 14, 1997, 20:00 local (Jul 15, 1997, 04:00 UTC)
- Place
- Fairbanks, AK
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N4520APiper PA-22
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 4, 1998
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19970715018369A
- Case key
- 3026
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 initiation of an abrupt, evasive maneuver, and his failure to maintain directional control of the airplane. Factors in the accident were an undetermined object crossing the runway and the passenger's rudder control interference during the evasive maneuver.
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 was departing a private airstrip toward the south, and had just obtained lift-off airspeed. The passenger and pilot noticed an unidentified object run across the runway under the main wheels. The pilot thought the object was a dog or child. The pilot abruptly pulled the control stick aft. At the same time, the passenger depressed the right rudder. Both actions were an attempt to miss hitting the object. The right wing struck the runway, and the airplane ground looped and nosed over.
Factual narrative
On July 14, 1997, about 2000 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Piper PA-22 airplane, N4520A, crashed during takeoff from a gravel airstrip at Chena Marina, about 5 miles southwest of Fairbanks, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) local area personal flight when the accident occurred. The airplane, operated by the pilot, sustained substantial damage. The certificated commercial pilot was not injured. The sole passenger received minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed.
On July 15, 1997, at 1420, the pilot reported in a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), he was departing runway 18, and had just obtained liftoff airspeed. The passenger and pilot noticed an unidentified object run across the runway, under the main wheels. The pilot indicated he thought the object was a dog or child. The pilot abruptly pulled the control stick aft. At the same time, the passenger depressed the right rudder. Both actions were an attempt to miss hitting the object. The right wing struck the runway, and the airplane ground looped and nosed over. The airplane received damage to the wings, fuselage, and tail assembly.
The closest official weather observation station is Fairbanks, Alaska, which is located 5 nautical miles northeast of the accident site. On July 14, 1997, at 1953, an Aviation Routine Weather Report (METAR) was reporting in part: Wind, 260 degrees (true) at 5 knots; visibility, 30 statute miles; clouds, few at 10,000 feet, 25,000 feet broken; temperature, 59 degrees F; dew point, 39 degrees F; altimeter, 29.93 inHg.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4520A
- Reported as
- Piper PA-22
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 22-3827
- Airframe hours
- 2,785
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Alfred B. Shipley
- Registered owner
- Stan Bearup
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 27, 1997 · 16 hours before
- Departed
- AK28
- Airport
- AK28 · Chena Marina, runway 18, 4,700 × 100 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
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,630 total · 30 in this make and model · 1,510 as pilot in command · 3 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 260° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 59 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- FAI, 5 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.