Chickaloon, AK, USA
N3575T
Taylorcraft F19
The solo commercial pilot was approaching to land on a gravel bar adjacent to a river when he noted that his altitude was low, and he added power. He said he then encountered a downdraft, and added full power, but the airplane continued to descend. He said near the ground the uncontrolled descent stopped, but the airplane touched down on rough terrain 200 feet short of the runway. The landing gear collapsed, and the airplane sustained structural damage to the right wing and fuselage. The pilot stated that there were no preaccident mechanical problems with the airplane.
On August 19, 2005, about 1900 Alaska daylight time, a Taylorcraft F19 airplane, N3575T, sustained substantial damage during an in-flight collision with terrain while on approach to land, about 1.5 miles southeast of Chickaloon, Alaska. The airplane was being operated by the pilot as a visual flight rules (VFR) personal local flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. The solo commercial certificated pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) on August 23, the pilot said he was making an approach to a gravel bar along a river, and made a right turn to line up with the landing area, when he noted that his altitude was low, and he added power. He said the airplane then entered a downdraft, and he added full power, but the airplane continued to descend. The pilot said as the airplane neared the ground it recovered from the uncontrolled descent, but touched down on rough terrain, about 200 feet short of the intended landing area. He said the right main landing gear collapsed, and the airplane skidded off the runway. He said there were no known mechanical anomalies with the airplane prior to the accident, and that the airplane sustained structural damage to the right wing and lift strut, lower left fuselage, and rudder.
The pilot's misjudged distance and altitude on final approach to land, which resulted in an undershoot and structural damage to the airplane. A factor associated with the accident was a downdraft.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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