N4774A

On August 5, 2005, about 2045 Alaska daylight time, a Piper PA-22-150 airplane, N4774A, sustained substantial damage when it collided with terrain during a low pass, about 16 miles west of Tyonek, Alaska. The airplane was being operated by the pilot as a visual flight rules (VFR) instructional flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. The flight instructor and student pilot were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated at the Wolf Lake Airport, Palmer, Alaska, about 1920.

In a written statement to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) dated August 11, the flight instructor reported that they were scouting a suitable off airport landing site near a fishing stream. He wrote that while examining a potential landing site during a low pass about 10 feet above the ground, the airplane started to settle. He said when he applied power the engine failed to respond, and the airplane touched down and nosed over during the landing roll. In the written statement to the NTSB the flight instructor stated the throttle "should have been applied slowly on the go-around." The airplane received structural damage to the vertical stabilizer and rudder. The flight instructor also noted in his report that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures associated with the accident.