- Date
- April 17, 1998, 17:00 local (Apr 18, 1998, 01:00 UTC)
- Place
- Chugiak, AK
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N134CStinson 108-2
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 15, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19980417007169A
- Case key
- 3131
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 selection of an unsuitable, slush-covered, runway for landing. A factor was the slush-covered runway.
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 private pilot was attempting to land on the 1,000 feet long by 30 feet wide gravel runway. Upon touchdown, he realized there was five to six inches of slushy snow on the gravel surface, and he attempted to abort the landing. The airplane contacted brush at the departure end of the runway, and nosed over.
Factual narrative
On April 17, 1998, at 1700 Alaska daylight time, a Stinson 108-2 tailwheel airplane, N134C, sustained substantial damage during an aborted landing at the Eklutna Lake - Bold airstrip, 10 miles northeast of Chugiak, Alaska. The solo private pilot was uninjured. The airplane was owned and operated by the pilot. The flight was conducted under 14 CFR part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed.
The flight departed Merrill Field, Anchorage, Alaska, at 1600, to stop at the Bold airstrip, and then return. The pilot stated in a telephone interview with the NTSB Investigator-In-Charge on April 18, 1998, that he was attempting to land on runway 14, which measures 1,000 feet long by 30 feet wide. Upon touchdown, he realized there was five to six inches of slushy snow on the gravel runway, and he attempted to abort the landing. The airplane contacted brush at the departure end of the takeoff area, and the airplane nosed over. The elevators, wings, propeller, and fuselage were damaged.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N134C
- Reported as
- Stinson 108-2
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 108-3134
- Airframe hours
- 2,598
- Engine
- Franklin 6A4-165-B4, 165 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Bruce C. Jones
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 8, 1997 · 70 hours before
- Departed
- MRI · Anchorage, AK
- Destination
- A13 · Bold, AK
- Airport
- A13 · Bold-Eklutna Lake Strip, runway 14, 1,000 × 30 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
- 43
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 130 total · 110 in this make and model · 83 as pilot in command · 11 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 36 °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 N134C · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.