Piper PA-18-150 N3797Z

Summary

On 14 November 2009 at about 18:00 local time, a Piper PA-18-150 registered N3797Z, operated by John C. Buller, was involved in an accident near Anchorage, Alaska, United States. 2 people were 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

14 November 2009 at 18:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Anchorage, Alaska, United States

Coordinates

60.5172, -150.7339

Aircraft

Piper PA-18-150

Registration

N3797Z

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

John C. Buller

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Anchorage → Anchorage

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC10CA008

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's decision to land and attempt to takeoff from an unsuitable off-airport site.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot was taking off in a tundra tire-equipped airplane from a snow-covered off-airport site, on a Title 14, CFR Part 91 personal flight. He reported that during the takeoff roll the main wheels struck a snowdrift, and the airplane nosed over, resulting in substantial damage to the wings and wing lift struts. The pilot said there were no preaccident mechanical problems with the airplane, and noted in his report to the NTSB that he should not have landed at the off-airport site with a wheel-equipped airplane. The pilot reported that after the accident he manually activated the airplane’s 406 MHz Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT), and within 20 minutes of doing so, he received a cell phone call from the airplane’s owner inquiring about the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.