Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
The pilot's selection of an unsuitable landing site. A factor associated with the accident was the soft, snow-covered terrain.
Aircraft Information
Registered Owner (Current)
Analysis
On March 28, 1999, about 1300 Alaska standard time, a wheel equipped Cessna 180 airplane, N3452D, sustained substantial damage while landing at the Skelton Airstrip, about 55 miles west-southwest of Glennallen, Alaska. The private pilot and the two passengers aboard were not injured. The personal flight operated in visual meteorological conditions without a flight plan. The flight last departed Merrill Field, Anchorage, Alaska, about 1200. The destination was the Skelton Airstrip.
During a telephone conversation with an NTSB investigator on March 29, the pilot related he was landing to the south on packed snow. During the landing roll, the pilot said the left main landing gear tire encountered soft snow. He said the left main landing gear and tire sank into the snow, and he could not prevent the airplane from nosing over.
According to the pilot, the left wing tip, the left wing lift strut, the vertical stabilizer, and the rudder, were damaged.
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# ANC99LA037