N92197

On July 20, 1998, about 2000 Alaska daylight time, a Cessna 182 airplane, N92197, sustained substantial damage when it nosed over during landing on an off airport landing site at the Caribou Mine, located about 45 miles east-northeast of Fairbanks, Alaska. The solo commercial pilot was not injured. The flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91, as a personal flight. The flight departed Fairbanks about 1915 on July 20. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed. The accident was reported by local residents to the FAA on August 1.

The pilot told two FAA inspectors during an interview on August 3, that while landing at the Caribou Mine, the airplane touched down short of the landing area, the left wing dragged into brush, and the airplane nosed over, damaging both wings and the tail. He described the weather to the FAA inspectors as 4,000 feet overcast, with five knots of wind from the southeast. According to the FAA inspectors who interviewed the pilot, he had an estimated 24,000 hours of flight experience.

The pilot did not submit a Pilot / Operator Report, NTSB Form 6120.1/2, nor did he respond to the Safety Board's letters.