# NTSB ANC99LA050: Luscombe L-8F, N45627, Kodiak, AK, April 26, 1999 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: April 26, 1999, 13:32 local (21:32 UTC) - Place: Kodiak, AK - Coordinates: 57.79087, -152.400726 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=57.7909&lon=-152.4007&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Maneuvering](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/450) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Serious injuries - Injuries: 1 serious, 1 minor - Status: Completed, report June 22, 2000 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - NTSB case key (mKey): 46157 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC99LA050 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/46157/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC99LA050 ## Probable cause The pilot's inadequate terrain clearance during the initial climb, and the inadvertent stall/spin during the turn to avoid terrain. A factor in this accident was the pilot exceeding the allowable maximum gross weight of the airplane. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - in flight, maneuvering - turn to reverse direction - aircraft weight and balance - exceeded, pilot in command (contributing factor) - altitude/clearance - inadequate, pilot in command (cause) - stall/spin - inadvertent, pilot in command (cause) - In flight collision with terrain/water, descent - uncontrolled - object - tree(s) ## Analysis The pilot told the NTSB investigator-in-charge (IIC) he took off with the airplane at maximum gross weight. During the initial climb, he attempted to cross a ridge and realized the airplane was not gaining sufficient altitude to clear terrain. The pilot stated he turned the airplane toward the water in a steep bank. He indicated the airplane entered a spin, and dropped into the trees. He told the NTSB IIC the airplane was operating normally. No preaccident anomalies were found by the state troopers on scene, or by the NTSB metallurgy laboratory. The estimated weight of the airplane at the time of the accident was 1,484 pounds. The allowable takeoff weight was 1,375 pounds. ## Factual narrative On April 26, 1999, at 1332 Alaska daylight time, a float equipped Luscombe L-8F airplane, N45627, sustained substantial damage when it collided with trees, about 200 feet inland from Zachar Bay, approximately 25 miles southwest of Kodiak, Alaska. The private pilot sustained serious injuries, and the sole passenger received minor injuries. The airplane was operated by the pilot under 14 CFR Part 91 as a personal flight. The flight departed the pilot's cabin on Zachar Bay about 1330 for the local area. 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 April 27, and wrote in his NTSB Pilot/Operator report, that during the initial climb after takeoff, he attempted to cross a ridge. He recognized the airplane was not gaining sufficient altitude to clear the terrain. He told the NTSB IIC he turned the airplane toward the bay in a steep bank, and noticed the terrain was closer than he had thought. He remembered the airplane entering the first 1/2 turn of a spin, and dropping into the trees. Both occupants exited the airplane, the pilot made a distress call from his handheld radio, and they were picked up by a passing airplane within five minutes of the accident. The pilot said the airplane was at the maximum gross weight of 1,375 pounds, and both he and the passenger were wearing shoulder harnesses. The pilot also stated there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane. The pilot stated the engine was at full throttle, and the controls all functioned normally. The passenger told the NTSB IIC during a telephone interview on April 27, she thought she heard a snap and then the airplane did not want to stay in the air. A pilot for the Alaska State Troopers who visited the site on April 27, described a separated elevator control cable, and a broken aileron bellcrank. These components were examined at the NTSB metallurgical laboratory, and revealed fracture surfaces indicative of overstress separation. No indications of progressive, or fatigue, failures were noted. The state trooper pilot wrote in his case report he removed and weighed 75 pounds of cargo from the airplane. The trooper interviewed a friend of the accident pilot on April 29. According to the trooper, the pilot's friend said he went to the accident site on April 26 to secure the pilot's cabin, and removed the following items from the airplane: an 8 pound rifle, a 3 pound purse, a 5 pound survival pack, and 5 pound hip waders. The pilot told the NTSB IIC the fuel tanks were full. The NTSB IIC estimated the takeoff weight of the airplane as follows: Empty weight of the airplane, 894 pounds, fuel, 180 pounds, pilot (from driver's license), 164 pounds, passenger (from driver's license), 150 pounds, cargo (removed by troopers), 75 pounds, cargo (removed by friends), 21 pounds, total at accident, 1,484 pounds, maximum allowable weight, 1,375 pounds. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N45627](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N45627-2017-06-14), registration cancelled 2017-06-14, S/N 2154, built 1946 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Luscombe L-8F - Registry model: [Luscombe 8F](https://openairdocs.org/model/luscombe-8f) (registry code 8190114) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental C90 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-c90-series) (registry code 17009, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 2154 - Airframe hours: 5518 - Engines: Continental C90-12F 90 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Christopher Kinter - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, May 13, 1998, 148 hours before - Departed: ZACHAR BAY, AK - Flight plan: VFR ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 48; private; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine sea, single-engine land; medical: class 3, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; seat: left; flight hours: 4,000 total, 1,200 in this make and model, 4,000 as pilot in command, 72 in the last 90 days, 35 in the last 30 days, 4 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 240° at 10 knots - Visibility: 30 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 48 °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 19990426004069A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990426004069A), Apr 26, 1999: Luscom 8F, Kodiak, AK, Substantial damage. Acft crashed on landing and sustained substantial damage, other circumstances are unknown. (.19) on April 26, 1999, at 1332 Alaska daylight time, a float… 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.