- Date
- October 11, 1997, 16:20 local (Oct 12, 1997, 00:20 UTC)
- Place
- Palmer, AK
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N7269ECessna 182B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 6, 1998
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19971012031239A
- Case key
- 3101
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 misjudging the touchdown point, which resulted in landing short of the sand bar and the airplane nosing over.
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 tricycle gear equipped airplane was being landed on a gravel bar in calm winds. The pilot stated that he landed short, the nose wheel dug in, and the airplane flipped over.
Factual narrative
On October 11, 1997, at 1620 Alaska daylight time, a Cessna 182B airplane, N7269E, sustained substantial damage during landing on a gravel bar near Lake George, Alaska, twenty three miles southeast of Palmer, Alaska. The private pilot and sole passenger were uninjured. The flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91, as a personal flight to drop off a friend on a hunting trip. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, winds were calm, and no flight plan was filed.
The flight originated at 1530 from the Palmer-Butte airstrip. The pilot was making his second landing on the gravel bar, having dropped off one passenger at 1550. The airplane was equipped with 8.50 x 6 inch tires, and tricycle landing gear.
The pilot stated to the NTSB investigator during a telephone interview on October 11, 1997, that he "...Made a mistake, landed short, and the airplane nosed over onto its back." He made the same statement to the FAA inspector.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7269E
- Reported as
- Cessna 182B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 52269
- Airframe hours
- 4,432
- Engine
- Continental O-470-L9, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Franklin K. Hollingshead
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 12, 1997 · 55 hours before
- Departed
- AK01 · Palmer (Butte), AK
- Airport
- Lake George Gravel Bar
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
- 52
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 198 total · 140 as pilot in command · 23 in the last 90 days · 8 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.