N7051

On May 15, 1999, about 1330 Alaska daylight time, a wheel-ski equipped Piper PA-18 airplane, N7051, sustained substantial damage when it nosed down during landing about 58 miles north of Nome, Alaska. The solo private pilot was not injured. The airplane was being operated under 14 CFR Part 91 as a public use aircraft by the State of Alaska Department of Public Safety. The flight departed Nome about 1205 to patrol for bear hunters. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and a company VFR flight plan was filed.

The pilot reported to the NTSB investigator-in-charge (IIC) during a telephone interview on May 17, that he was landing on a clear section of a two-lane gravel road to assist a company airplane which had become stuck in soft snow. There was a 12 knot crosswind, blowing from 40 degrees left of the airplane's nose. The pilot stated that the touchdown and landing roll were uneventful, until the airplane "crow hopped" to the right. The airplane departed the right side of the road. The wheels contacted soft snow, and the airplane nosed down. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left-rear lift-strut. The pilot told the IIC that there were no preaccident anomalies with the airplane.