Piper PA-18 N78NR

Summary

On 24 June 2000 at about 18:30 local time, a Piper PA-18 registered N78NR was involved in an accident near Skwentna, Alaska, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

24 June 2000 at 18:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Skwentna, Alaska, United States

Coordinates

61.9304, -151.7302

Aircraft

Piper PA-18

Registration

N78NR

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Chugiak → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC00LA079

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadequate compensation for wind conditions. Factors in the accident were the presence of a tailwind, the pilot's inadvertent touchdown, and a short landing area bordered by high vegetation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private certificated pilot was landing at his private airstrip, next to his cabin. The dirt airstrip, oriented southeast/northwest, is about 600 feet long, and 60 feet wide. The pilot said he overflew the strip several times. He selected full flaps, and began a landing approach toward the northwest. During the approach, a wind shift, producing a tailwind, carried the airplane past the pilot's intended landing spot, and the airplane inadvertently touched down. The pilot added full power to abort the landing. The airplane collided with brush at the end of the airstrip, and the airplane nosed over. The airplane received damage to the wings, fuselage, and tail.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.