# NTSB ANC98LA142: Cessna 170B, N4368M, Port Alsworth, AK, September 5, 1998 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: September 5, 1998, 15:00 local (23:00 UTC) - Place: Port Alsworth, AK - Coordinates: 60.199668, -154.280258 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=60.1997&lon=-154.2803&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Taxi](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/250) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report March 30, 2000 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - NTSB case key (mKey): 43880 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC98LA142 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/43880/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC98LA142 ## Probable cause The solo student pilot's excessive application of brakes during taxi from landing. Factors associated with the accident were the pilot's selection of unsuitable terrain for a precautionary landing, rough terrain, and the fuel leak from the fuel tank vent. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Nose over, taxi - from landing - precautionary landing - performed, pilot in command - terrain condition - rough/uneven (contributing factor) - unsuitable terrain or takeoff/landing/taxi area - selected, pilot in command (contributing factor) - brakes(normal) - excessive, pilot in command (cause) - Fire, other - fuel system,vent - leak (contributing factor) ## Analysis The solo student pilot was on a cross country training flight. He stated that the airplane had been experiencing symptoms of carburetor ice, so he decided execute an off airport landing on a ridgetop gravel landing site to inspect the engine. The winds were light and variable. After landing, the tires hit a rut, he applied brakes, and the airplane nosed over. He indicated that fuel ran out of the tank vent, located just above the windscreen, and down over the engine. The airplane caught fire and was destroyed. The Emergency Locator Transmitter was consumed in the fire, and he was rescued the following day. ## Factual narrative On September 5, 1998, about 1500 Alaska daylight time, a Cessna 170B airplane, N4368M, was destroyed when it nosed over during landing at an off airport landing site 40 miles northwest of Port Alsworth, Alaska. The solo student pilot was not injured. The flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91 as a student solo cross country training flight. The flight departed from Nikiski, Alaska, about 1130, for Port Alsworth. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed. The pilot told the NTSB investigator-in-charge during a telephone interview on September 9, that during the flight he encountered repeated episodes of carburetor icing, which cleared up with application of carburetor heat. He decided to land on a ridgetop off airport landing site to inspect the airplane's carburetor heat control, and drain some fuel. The pilot reported winds to be light and variable. During taxi after landing, the airplane's tires struck a rut, the pilot applied brakes, and the airplane nosed over. Fuel ran out of the fuel tank vents onto the engine, and the airplane immediately caught fire. The fire destroyed the airplane. The pilot indicated that he retrieved some survival equipment from the airplane before it was consumed, but was unable to reach the Emergency Locator Transmitter. The following day he saw some hunters, who ferried him to Port Alsworth. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N4368M](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N4368M-2000-08-31), registration cancelled 2000-08-31, S/N 26685 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 170B - Registry model: [Cessna 170B](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-170b) (registry code 2072306) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 26685 - Airframe hours: 4506 - Engines: Continental O-300A 145 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Destroyed - Fire: On-Ground - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Operator: Craig M. Dominick - Registered owner: Peninsula Lawn Care, Inc. - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, January 19, 1998, 20 hours before - Departed: NIKISKI-MCGAHAN, AK - Destination: AK ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 28; student; medical: class 3, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; seat: left; flight hours: 150 total, 150 in this make and model, 150 as pilot in command, 20 in the last 90 days, 10 in the last 30 days, 3 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Visibility: 40 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 19980905022779A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980905022779A), Sep 5, 1998: Cessna 170B, Port Alsworth, AK, Destroyed. (.19) On September 5, 1998, about 1500 Alaska daylight time, a Cessna 170B airplane, N4368M, was destroyed when it nosed over during landing at an off airport… 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.