- Date
- July 9, 1998, 13:30 local (21:30 UTC)
- Place
- Palmer, AK
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N1602APiper PA-18
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 30, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19980709023889A
- Case key
- 43063
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 failure to identify an unsafe/hazardous condition. A related factor was the ditch.
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 certificated private pilot landed in a remote, off-airport area. After landing, he was taxiing toward a takeoff position, and the main landing gear entered a small ditch. The tail of the airplane was elevated in relation to the nose, and a gust of wind caught the tail. The airplane nosed over, and received damage to the left wing, and left wing lift strut. The pilot said the wind conditions were from the east at 8 to 10 knots, with gusts from 15 to 20 knots.
Factual narrative
On July 9, 1998, about 1330 Alaska daylight time, a tundra tire equipped Piper PA-18 airplane, N1602A, sustained substantial damage after landing in a remote area, about 25 miles east of Palmer, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) local area personal flight when the accident occurred. The airplane was registered to, and operated by, the pilot. The certificated private pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight originated at the Palmer Airport, Palmer, Alaska, about 1300.
During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), on July 11, 1998, at 0905, the pilot reported he landed near the Knik River to look for two friends. After landing, the pilot was taxiing toward a takeoff position. The main landing gear entered a small ditch. The tail of the airplane was elevated in relation to the nose, and a gust of wind caught the tail. The airplane nosed over, and received damage to the left wing, and left wing lift strut. The pilot said the wind conditions were from the east at 8 to 10 knots, with gusts from 15 to 20 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1602A
- Reported as
- Piper PA-18
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18-1240
- Airframe hours
- 1,550
- Engine
- Lycoming O-290-D, 125 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Richard G. Braem Jr.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 30, 1998 · 20 hours before
- Departed
- PAQ
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
- 37
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 340 total · 280 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 10 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 55 °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 N1602A · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.