Aviation Accident Summary ANC19CA009

Big Lake, AK, USA

Aircraft #1

N93018

Cessna A185

Analysis

According to the pilot, upon returning from a short sightseeing flight in his tailwheel-equipped airplane, the landing and taxi lights would not illuminate. Due to the dark night conditions and the inoperable landing and taxi lights, the pilot chose to land on a roadway rather than the short ice-covered, private airstrip that he had used for departure. Unbeknownst to the pilot, a snow berm had been placed in the roadway. During the landing roll, the airplane struck the snow berm and nosed over The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings, horizontal stabilizer, and rudder. The pilot reported that a postaccident examination revealed that the factory connection for the landing and taxi lights had failed at the 4-pin connector. The pilot reported no other mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot stated that the accident might have been prevented if the flight had been limited to daylight operations.

Factual Information

According to the pilot, upon returning from a short sightseeing flight in his tailwheel-equipped airplane, the landing and taxi lights would not illuminate. Due to the dark night conditions and the inoperable landing and taxi lights, the pilot elected to land on a roadway rather than the short ice-covered private airstrip that had been used for departure. Unbeknownst to the pilot, a snow berm had been placed in the roadway. During the landing roll the airplane struck the snow berm and nosed over, substantially damaging the wings, horizontal stabilizer and rudder. The pilot reported that a postaccident examination revealed that the factory connection for the landing and taxi lights had failed at the 4-pin connector. The pilot reported no other mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation other than the inoperable landing and taxi lights. In the recommendation section of the NTSB Accident/Incident Reporting Form 6120.1, the pilot stated that the accident may have been prevented if the flight had been limited to daylight operations.

Probable Cause and Findings

The pilot's improper decision to land on a roadway during dark night conditions with inoperable landing and taxi lights, which resulted in an impact with a snow berm.

 

Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database

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