N63832

On June 25, 1999, about 1500 Alaska daylight time, an experimental Jasper Thunderbird-2C airplane, N63832, sustained substantial damage during a hard landing at the Birchwood Airport, Chugiak, Alaska. The solo private pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated under 14 CFR Part 91 as a local area personal flight. The flight departed the Birchwood Airport about 1430, and remained in the local traffic pattern. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed.

The pilot stated to the NTSB investigator-in-charge (IIC) during a telephone interview on July 6, that the engine lost power on final approach to ultralight runway 01. The airplane landed hard on the 1,000 feet long by 50 feet wide ultralight runway. The right-forward control yoke support tube was fractured, and two aileron teleflex control cables were damaged. The pilot had no explanation for the loss of engine power. It was the pilot's first flight in the airplane.