SEWARD, AK, USA
N1293D
Cessna 170
The commercial certificated pilot was landing a tundra tire-equipped airplane on the beach of a remote island. The pilot reported that he landed to the southwest, and during the landing roll, the tires encountered soft sand. The airplane nosed over about 350 to 400 feet after touchdown, and received structural damage to the vertical stabilizer and the rudder.
On August 30, 2003, about 1330 Alaska daylight time, a tundra tire-equipped Cessna 170 airplane, N1293D, sustained substantial damage when it nosed over during the landing roll on a beach on Montague Island, about 60 miles east of Seward, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) cross-country personal flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. The airplane was operated by the pilot. The commercial certificated pilot, and the sole passenger, were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight originated at the Girdwood Airport, Girdwood, Alaska, about 1200. No flight plan was filed, nor was one required. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), on September 2, the pilot reported that he was landing on the beach at Patton Bay on the east side of Montague Island. He said he landed to the southwest, and during the landing roll, the tires encountered soft sand. The airplane nosed over about 350 to 400 feet after touchdown, and received structural damage to the vertical stabilizer and the rudder.
The pilot's selection of unsuitable terrain for landing which resulted in a nose over during the landing roll. A factor contribuiting to the accident was the presence of soft sand.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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