N7786D

On August 29, 1995, about 1300 Alaska daylight time, a tundra tire equipped Piper PA-18, N7786D, crashed during landing at a remote airstrip, about 20 miles south of Sleetmute, Alaska, along the Holitna river. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) cross-country hunt/guide business flight under Title 14 CFR Part 91 when the accident occurred. The airplane, registered to the pilot and operated by Crescent Lake Lodge, Sleetmute, sustained substantial damage. The certificated private pilot and the sole passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight originated at the Sleetmute airstrip about 1230.

The pilot reported that he was landing at the lodge to transport a hunter to the lodge. The airstrip is about 1,200 feet long at 250 feet mean sea level, on a 090/270 degree orientation. The pilot landed to the west with a 7 knot cross-wind from the south. During the landing roll, the airplane ground looped to the left and veered off the left side of the airstrip, across a berm. The right main landing gear collapsed and the right wing contacted the ground. The pilot indicated that the right gear strut failed during the landing; however, the landing gear was restrained by the gear safety cable.

A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, Anchorage Flight Standards District Office (FSDO), reported that the pilot was concerned that the gear strut may have failed due to internal corrosion. An inspection by the inspector did not reveal any evidence of corrosion.