Summary
On April 01, 1997, a Piper PA-18 (N4500W) was involved in an incident near Noatak, AK. All 1 person aboard were uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.
The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident to be: Failure of the pilot to maintain directional control of the airplane, which resulted in an inadvertent ground loop and damage to the airplane. Factors associated with the accident were: the ice/snow covered runway, and the pilot's lack of experience in the make and model of airplane.
On April 1, 1997, about 1145 Alaska standard time, a wheel-ski equipped Piper PA-18 airplane, N4500W, registered to the U.S. Department of the Interior and operated by the National Park Service (NPS), received substantial damage while landing at the Noatak Airport, Noatak, Alaska. The solo commercial pilot, a NPS employee, was not injured. The U.S. Government operated flight was initiated for the purpose of maintaining pilot flight proficiency, and operated in visual meteorological conditions under 14 CFR Part 91.
This incident is documented in NTSB report ANC97TA045. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N4500W.
Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
failure of the pilot to maintain directional control of the airplane, which resulted in an inadvertent ground loop and damage to the airplane. Factors associated with the accident were: the ice/snow covered runway, and the pilot's lack of experience in the make and model of airplane.
Aircraft Information
Registered Owner (Current)
Analysis
On April 1, 1997, about 1145 Alaska standard time, a wheel-ski equipped Piper PA-18 airplane, N4500W, registered to the U.S. Department of the Interior and operated by the National Park Service (NPS), received substantial damage while landing at the Noatak Airport, Noatak, Alaska. The solo commercial pilot, a NPS employee, was not injured. The U.S. Government operated flight was initiated for the purpose of maintaining pilot flight proficiency, and operated in visual meteorological conditions under 14 CFR Part 91. The flight last departed Kotzebue, Alaska, and the immediate destination was the Noatak Airport.
During a telephone conversation with the NTSB investigator-in-charge on April 3, the pilot related he was returning to work with the NPS as a Park Ranger/Pilot, after a three month furlough. Since he had not flown during the time he was furloughed, he felt a need to practice his flying skills prior to a mission flight planned for the next day. The pilot was making a series of full stop landings at the Noatak Airport on wheel/ski equipped landing gear with the skis retracted. On the fourth landing on runway 36, the pilot said the airplane porpoised and bounced, and then went to the left during the landing roll. He said he overcorrected to the right, and then to the left. The airplane ground looped to the left, and came to rest facing in a westerly direction.
Postaccident inspection disclosed damage to a longeron and the horizontal stabilizer.
The written report submitted to the NTSB by the pilot indicated his total flight experience in a Piper PA-18 airplane was approximately five hours at the time of the accident.
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# ANC97TA045