ANC98LA160

The commercial pilot was landing on a ridgetop in a tundra tire equipped airplane. The winds were gusting to 25 knots. The pilot applied brakes and the airplane's tail began to come up. He released brakes, the tail began to come down. The pilot applied full aft stick, raising the trailing edge of the elevators, and the airplane nosed over.

On September 25, 1998, at 1045 Alaska daylight time, a Piper PA-18, tundra tire equipped airplane, N82905, sustained substantial damage when it nosed over during landing at an off airport ridgetop landing site, seven miles north of the Stuyahok Airport, New Stuyahok, Alaska. The solo commercial pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated by LAR, Inc., dba Alaskan Adventures, of Soldotna, Alaska. The flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91 as a business flight in support of a hunting-guide operation. The flight departed New Stuyahok at 1043 for the accident site to pick up caribou meat. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and a company VFR flight plan was filed.

The pilot told the NTSB investigator-in-charge during a telephone interview on September 26, and wrote in his NTSB Pilot / Operator report, that he had landed on the ridgetop with a 10 to 15 degree crosswind, with winds of 10 knots gusting to 25 knots. He said that when the airplane was almost stopped, he applied the brakes, and the tail came up. He released the brakes and the tail began to come back down. The pilot then applied full aft stick, raising the trailing edge of the elevators, and the airplane nosed over.