- Date
- September 6, 1998, 18:00 local (Sep 7, 1998, 02:00 UTC)
- Place
- Selawik, AK
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N28973Christen Industries A-1 Husky
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 16, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19980906028409A
- Case key
- 43913
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 inadequate compensation for the crosswind conditions. Factors in this accident were a crosswind, the pilot's lack of certification, and his inadequate fuel consumption calculations.
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 pilot stated to two FAA inspectors that he was attempting to land on a 600 feet long, off airport landing site, with a 25 knot crosswind and gusts to 35 knots. During the landing, the right main landing gear separated and the airplane nosed over. The pilot said he would not have attempted to land, but he did not have enough fuel to return to his destination airport. The pilot also revealed that he had been flying with a student pilot certificate since 1983, and 'just had not had time to complete his private license.' He had accumulated about 1,000 flight hours at the time of the accident.
Factual narrative
On September 6, 1998, about 1800 Alaska daylight time, a Christen Industries A-1 Husky airplane, N28973, sustained substantial damage when it nosed over during landing on an off airport landing strip, 54 miles southeast of Selawik, Alaska, at position 66-20.6 North latitude, 157-50.8 West longitude. The solo student pilot was not injured. The airplane was registered to Roberts Holdings, Inc., of Melstone, Montana, and was operated by David Roberts of Fairbanks, Alaska. 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 pilot told two FAA inspectors during an interview on September 9, that he was landing to the west on a 600 feet long, off airport strip with gusty right crosswinds of 25 knots to 35 knots. During the landing, the right main landing gear broke off and the airplane nosed over. He indicated that he would not have attempted to land in the gusty winds, but did not believe he had enough fuel to return to Galena.
The pilot had been flying with a student certificate issued in 1983, and had accrued about 1,000 hours of flight time, with about 400 hours in the accident airplane. He stated to the FAA inspectors that he "just had not had time to complete his private license."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N28973
- Reported as
- Christen Industries A-1 Husky
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 1018
- Airframe hours
- 520
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- David Roberts
- Registered owner
- Roberts Holdings, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 21, 1998 · 25 hours before
- Departed
- GAL · Galena, AK
- Destination
- Purcell Mtn., AK
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
- 58
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 1,000 total · 400 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 25 knots, gusting 35
- Visibility
- 40 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 50 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.