- Date
- April 4, 1999, 12:20 local (20:20 UTC)
- Place
- Talkeetna, AK
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N9237EMaule M-5
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 25, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19990404003059A
- Case key
- 46046
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 during landing. Factors associated with this accident were the left crosswind, and the snowbank on the edge of the 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 pilot said that after landing with a left crosswind of six to eight knots, a gust raised the left wing, and the tailwheel equipped airplane swerved off the left side of the 3,500 feet long by 75 feet wide runway. The wheels contacted snow and the airplane nosed over. The pilot stated there were no mechanical problems with the airplane.
Factual narrative
On April 4, 1999, at 1220 Alaska daylight time, a Maule M-5, tail wheel equipped airplane, N9237E, was substantially damaged when it departed the edge of runway 36 and nosed over at the Talkeetna Airport, Talkeetna, Alaska. The commercial pilot and sole passenger were not injured. The airplane was being operated under 14 CFR Part 91 as a personal flight. The flight departed Fairbanks, Alaska, at 1030, for Talkeetna. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and a VFR flight plan was on file.
The pilot told the NTSB investigator-in-charge during a telephone interview on April 5, and wrote in her NTSB Pilot / Operator report, that the automated weather observation (ASOS) reported the winds to be about six knots from 250 degrees. She initially attempted to land on runway 18, but executed a go-around after the airplane encountered "wind burbles" on final approach. She then landed on 3,500 feet long by 75 feet wide runway 36. The pilot said that during the landing roll, while at an estimated speed of 15 to 20 knots, a wind gust lifted the left wing and the airplane swerved left. The airplane departed the left side of the runway. The wheels contacted snow on the side of the runway, and the airplane nosed over. The pilot indicated that there were no mechanical problems with the airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9237E
- Reported as
- Maule M-5
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 7141C
- Airframe hours
- 1,130
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540-J1A5D, 235 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Nancy Lewis
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 17, 1998 · 8 hours before
- Departed
- FAI · Fairbanks, AK
- Destination
- TKA
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- TKA · Talkeetna, runway 36, 3,500 × 75 ft, asphalt
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
- 46
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 602 total · 409 in this make and model · 501 as pilot in command · 8 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 250° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 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 N9237E · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.