UGANIK RIVER, AK, USA
N13880
PIPER PA-18-150
THE PILOT IN COMMAND OF THE TUNDRA TIRE EQUIPPED AIRCRAFT ELECTED TO LAND ON A SHORT GRAVEL BAR STRIP WHICH WAS STREWN WITH ROCKS. COMPENSATION FOR SHIFTING WINDS WAS NOT MADE AND THE AIRPLANE NOSED OVER. THE PILOT OVERFLEW THE STRIP PRIOR TO LANDING BUT DID NOT DETECT HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS.
On June 27, 1993, at approximately 1630 Alaska daylight time, a tundra tire equipped PA18-150 airplane, N13880, nosed over on landing at a gravel bar landing strip on the Uganik River, 30 miles west of the town of Kodiak, Alaska. The sole occupant, a certificated private pilot, had departed Kodiak Municipal at 1530 with a stop at Port Lyons, also on Kodiak Island. The personal flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91 in visual meteorological conditions, without a flight plan. The pilot was not injured, however the airplane sustained substantial damage. The pilot told the investigators that he had overflown the landing area on two passes before landing; however, when he landed the wind was "squirrelly [sic] and probably should have gone around, (and) couldn't stop it, it went over." He said that when he examined the airplane after righting it that the damage included a bent rudder, one upper and one lower bent longeron as well. In a statement to the NTSB, the pilot recommended that he should (in the future) land shorter, avoid boulders and use less brake pressure.
PILOT IN COMMANDS FAILURE TO COMPENSATE ADEQUATELY FOR SHIFTING WIND CONDITIONS AND HIS SELECTION OF UNSUITABLE TERRAIN ON WHICH TO LAND. A FACTOR IN THE ACCIDENT WAS THE ROUGH UNEVEN TERRAIN LANDING STRIP.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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