# NTSB ANC98LA007: Piper PA-12, N4380M, Anchorage, AK, October 26, 1997 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: October 26, 1997, 14:30 local (18:30 UTC) - Place: Anchorage, AK - Coordinates: 61.220474, -149.849258 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=61.2205&lon=-149.8493&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 3 uninjured - Status: Completed, report September 28, 1999 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - NTSB case key (mKey): 3104 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC98LA007 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/3104/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC98LA007 ## Probable cause The pilot's selection of an unsuitable landing area. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - On ground/water encounter with terrain/water, landing - roll - terrain condition - weak ice - unsuitable terrain or takeoff/landing/taxi area - selected, pilot in command (cause) - Nose over, landing - roll ## Analysis The pilot reported he was landing his tundra tire equipped airplane on a tidal area that was covered with thin ice. During the landing roll, the main landing gear tires fell through the ice into a depression. The airplane decelerated rapidly, and then slowly nosed over. ## Factual narrative On October 26, 1997, about 1430 Alaska standard time, a tundra tire equipped Piper PA-12 airplane, N4380M, sustained substantial damage while landing at an off airport site about 20 miles south of Anchorage, Alaska. The Private certificated pilot and the two passengers aboard were not injured. The local, 14 CFR Part 91 flight operated in visual meteorological conditions without a flight plan. The flight departed the private, Sky Harbor airstrip, located in south Anchorage, about 1330. The purpose of the flight was to hunt rabbits, with an eventual return to the Sky Harbor airstrip. During a telephone conversation with the NTSB investigator-in-charge on October 27, 1997, the pilot related he was landing the airplane on ice and snow covered terrain. He said the airplane is equipped with over-sized, 32 inch tundra tires. After touchdown in a tidal zone, the main landing gear wheels broke through an area of thin ice, and into a depression, causing the airplane to decelerate rapidly, and then slowly nose over. The pilot reported damage to the lift struts on the right wing, and wrinkles in the tail section near the vertical stabilizer. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N4380M](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N4380M), registered now, S/N 12-3316 (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 0-235 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-235-series) (registry code 41505, 4 cycle) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 12-3316 - Engines: Lycoming O-360-A1A 205 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: David D. Hultquist - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 42; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land, single-engine sea; medical: class 3, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; seat: front; flight hours: 6,000 total, 150 in this make and model, 5,900 as pilot in command, 100 in the last 90 days, 10 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: calm - Visibility: 100 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 25 °F, dew point 16 °F ## 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 19971026031019A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19971026031019A), Oct 26, 1997: Piper PA12, Anchorage, AK, Substantial damage. Landed ice and snow terrain. Tundra tires broke thru thin ice in ditch. (.4) on October 26, 1997, about 1430 Alaska standard time, a tundra tire equipped Piper… ## Other investigations on N4380M (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 ANC94LA063](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC94LA063), Jun 1, 1994: Piper PA-12 (N4380M), Fairbanks, AK, substantial damage. Probable cause: THE PILOT'S SELECTION OF AN UNSUITABLE LANDING AREA. 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.