SKWENTNA, AK, USA
N4478A
PIPER PA-18
THE PILOT LANDED THE AIRPLANE ON A GRAVEL BAR. DURING THE LANDING ROLL HE WAS APPLYING BRAKE PRESSURE. THE WHEELS HIT A SOFT SPOT IN THE GRAVEL AND THE AIRPLANE NOSED OVER.
On August 29, 1994, at 1500 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Piper PA-18 airplane, N4478A, registered to and operated by Henry J. Orth of Anchorage, Alaska, nosed over during the landing roll on a gravel bar located at the confluence of the Hartman River and South Fork of the Kuskokwim River. The personal flight, operating under 14 CFR Part 91, departed a field site for a local hunting flight. No flight plan was filed and visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured and the airplane received substantial damage. According to the pilot he landed on a gravel bar and during the landing roll, while applying brake pressure, the airplane's wheels hit a soft spot and the airplane nosed over.
THE PILOT'S SELECTING A GRAVEL BAR FOR A NORMAL LANDING. A FACTOR WAS THE SOFT SPOT IN THE GRAVEL BAR.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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