- Date
- April 13, 1991, 16:05 local (22:05 UTC)
- Place
- Ekalaka, MT
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N1322APiper PA-18-125
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 24, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910413010629A
- Case key
- 41412
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 did not maintain directional control of the airplane during the landing roll. Factors to the accident were: the landing surface was covered with slush, snow was falling and obscured the pilot's vision.
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
At the end of a loal flight, the weather had deteriorated so that light snow was falling. The airplane approached the airstrip, and the pilot noted that the airstrip was covered with snow. Instead of landing on the airstrip, the pilot opted to land on a road that ran adjacent to the airstrip. During the landing roll on the slush covered road, the pilot lost directional control. The airplane veered off the road and collided into a ditch and nosed over.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1322A
- Reported as
- Piper PA-18-125
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18-1128
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Erlend D. Laird
- Registered owner
- Erlend D. Laird
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
- 52
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 4,112 total · 2,300 in this make and model · 4,112 as pilot in command · 28 in the last 90 days · 15 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 3 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 1,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 30 °F, dew point -0 °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 N1322A · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.