Fairbanks, AK, USA
N1755P
Piper PA-18
The airline transport certificated pilot was landing on a gravel surface area oriented east/west, that was about 700 feet long, and about 30 feet wide. The pilot stated he landed uphill toward the west, and about 20 feet after touchdown, a gust of wind lifted the tail of the airplane. The nose of the airplane veered to the right, and the right wing collided with a tree. The airplane received damage to the right wing, and the right wing lift strut. The pilot said that until the unexpected tailwind, the wind had been calm.
On September 11, 2005, about 1950 Alaska daylight time, a tundra tire-equipped Piper PA-18 airplane, N1755P, sustained substantial damage when it collided with a spruce tree during the landing roll at a remote landing area, about 40 miles south-southeast of Fairbanks, 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 airline transport certificated pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight originated at the Bradley Sky Ranch Airport, North Pole, Alaska, about 1905, and 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 16, the pilot reported that he was landing on a gravel surface area oriented east/west, that was about 700 feet long, and about 30 feet wide. The pilot stated he landed uphill toward the west, and about 20 feet after touch down, a gust of wind lifted the tail of the airplane. The nose of the airplane veered to the right, and the right wing collided with a tree. The airplane received damage to the right wing, and the right wing lift strut. The pilot said that until the unexpected tailwind, the wind had been calm.
The pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane during the landing roll, which resulted in a collision with a tree. A factor contributing to the accident was a tailwind.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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