SQUIRREL RIVER, AK, USA
N4402Z
PIPER PA-18
THE PILOT SAID THAT AFTER TOUCHING DOWN ON THE RIDGE THE AIRPLANE BOUNCED SO HE ADDED POWER FOR A GO AROUND. THE RIGHT WING THEN DROPPED AND HIT THE GROUND, AND THE AIRPLANE SPUN AROUND ABOUT 90 DEGREES TO THE RIGHT AND HIT HARD ON ITS NOSE. HE SAID HE WAS LANDING WITH AN APPROXIMATE 10 GUSTING TO 15 KNOT LEFT QUARTERING HEADWIND.
On August 31, 1993, at 1800 Alaska daylight time, the pilot of a wheel equipped Piper PA 18 airplane, N4402Z, lost control of the airplane and collided with the terrain while landing on a ridge adjacent to the Squirrel River, about 70 miles northeast of Kotzebue, Alaska. The private pilot, the sole occupant, received minor injuries, and the airplane was substantially damaged. The business flight, operating under 14 CFR Part 91, departed a local remote hunting camp at 1730. Visual meteorological conditions existed, and no flight plan was filed. The pilot reported the accident to the NTSB on September 2, 1993. During that telephone conversation he stated the following in part: "The winds were gusty so I was landing a bit faster than normal. I had the airplane trimmed for landing. The airplane touched down, bounced, then the right wing went down and hit the ground. The airplane then spun around about 90 degrees and hit hard on the nose. The gusty wind made the right wing go down so fast that I could not level the wings before it hit the ground."
THE PILOT IMPROPERLY COMPENSATED FOR THE WIND CONDITIONS.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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