# NTSB ANC97LA147: Piper PA-12, N2389M, Anchorage, AK, September 12, 1997 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: September 12, 1997, 15:45 local (23:45 UTC) - Place: Anchorage, AK - Location: 61.2181° N, 149.9003° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Anchorage, AK, within about 23 miles (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=61.2181&lon=-149.9003&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 2 minor - Status: Completed, report November 10, 1998 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - NTSB case key (mKey): 3067 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC97LA147 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/3067/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC97LA147 ## Probable cause The pilot's misjudgment of the touchdown point, which led to undershoot and the airplane nosing over. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Undershoot, landing - proper touchdown point - misjudged, pilot in command (cause) - Nose over, landing - roll ## Analysis The pilot was on final approach to an off-airport landing area with a light, right 30 degree crosswind. The pilot said the airplane was configured with full flaps, and the indicated airspeed was between 30 and 35 miles per hour. A stand of trees was directly upwind, and next to, the runway threshold. On short final to land, the airplane settled, the wheels struck the river bank short of the runway, and the airplane nosed over. ## Factual narrative On September 12, 1997, at 1545 Alaska daylight time, a Piper PA-12 airplane, N2389M, sustained substantial damage when it nosed over during landing at a gravel bar on the Theodore River, about 25 miles west of Anchorage, Alaska. The private certificated pilot and one passenger sustained minor injuries. The flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91, as a personal flight from Merrill Field in Anchorage, to the Theodore River, and returning. The flight departed Merrill Field at 1335. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed. The pilot reported he was landing to the west with an approximate 30 degree right crosswind of four knots. The airplane was just above touchdown, at an indicated airspeed of 30 to 35 miles per hour, with full flaps extended, when the airplane settled. He stated the airplane landed hard, the tail came up, and the prop struck the ground. The airplane nosed over onto its back. Photographs of the landing site reveal a stand of trees just to the right of the approach end of the landing area. The airplane was configured with 8.50 x 6 inch tires. Photographs of the gravel bar reveal two 6 inch wide gouges in the sand beginning below the lip of the river bank, and continuing onto the landing area. Between these gouges are four slash marks oriented approximately 45 degrees to the gouges, spaced about equally in the line of airplane travel. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N2389M](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N2389M-2013-08-15), registration cancelled 2013-08-15, S/N 12-1511, built 1946 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Piper PA-12 - Registry model: [Piper PA-12](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-12) (registry code 7101202) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-290 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-290-series) (registry code 41506, 4 cycle) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 12-1511 - Airframe hours: 4182 - Engines: Lycoming O-360-A2A 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Jay Allen Rosenbach - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, August 9, 1997, 14 hours before - Departed: MRI, AK - Destination: THEODORE RIVER, AK ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 48; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land, single-engine sea; medical: class 2, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; seat: front; flight hours: 934 total, 89 in this make and model, 896 as pilot in command, 61 in the last 90 days, 19 in the last 30 days, 2 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 270° at 4 knots - Visibility: 35 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 61 °F, dew point 48 °F - Altimeter: 30.00 inHg ## 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 19970912026569A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970912026569A), Sep 12, 1997: Piper PA12, Anchorage, AK, Substantial damage. Aircraft crashed on landing. (.4) the pilot was on final approach to an off-airport landing area with a light, right 30 degree crosswind. The pilot said the… ## Other investigations on N2389M (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 ANC94LA122](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC94LA122), Aug 20, 1994: Piper PA-12 (N2389M), Chickaloon, AK, substantial damage. Probable cause: THE PILOT'S INADEQUATE IN-FLIGHT PLANNING AND A FAILURE TO MAINTAIN DIRECTIONAL CONTROL OF THE AIRPLANE. FACTORS WERE THE RISING, ROUGH/UNEVEN TERRAIN AND THE TAILWIND. 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.