KOLIGANEK, AK, USA
N94FB
PIPER PA-18
THE PILOT AND A PASSENGER WERE COMPLETING A PERSONAL CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT FOR THE PURPOSE OF HUNTING AND THE PILOT PLANNED A LANDING IN A REMOTE AREA OF TUNDRA IN AN AIRPLANE EQUIPPED WITH LARGE TUNDRA TIRES. THE PILOT ESTIMATED THE LANDING AREA TO BE ABOUT 600 FEET LONG. THE PILOT LANDED IN ABOUT THE MIDDLE OF THE AREA; HOWEVER, THEN DECIDED TO PERFORM A GO-AROUND. THE PILOT ADDED FULL POWER; HOWEVER, THE LEFT WING AND LEFT LANDING GEAR STRUCK ABOUT A 20 FOOT HIGH TREE. AFTER IMPACT, THE PILOT LANDED AND DISCOVERED THAT THE INTENDED LANDING AREA WAS 400 FEET LONG.
On August 19, 1994, at 1750 Alaska daylight time, a tundra tire equipped Piper PA18-150 airplane, N94FB, owned and operated by the pilot-in-command, collided with a tree during an attempted go-around from a remote tundra strip approximately 34 miles southwest of Koliganek, Alaska. The private certificated pilot and his passenger, the sole occupants, were not injured and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The pleasure flight, conducted under 14 CFR Part 91, last departed Palmer, Alaska at 1750 on August 18 and the intended destination was the area in which the mishap occurred. According to the pilot, visual meteorological conditions prevailed and there was no flight plan in effect. The pilot reported that he initially estimated the landing area to be about 600 feet long. During the landing attempt, he touched down in the middle of the landing area and then decided to go-around. The pilot added full power; however, the left wing and left landing gear struck a 20 foot high tree. After the accident, the pilot determined that the landing area was about 400 feet long.
THE PILOT'S INADEQUATE IN-FLIGHT PLANNING AND FAILURE TO ATTAIN A TOUCHDOWN POINT IN THE LANDING AREA. AN OBSTACLE (TREE) IN THE LANDING AREA WAS A FACTOR IN THE ACCIDENT.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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