Coldfoot, AK, USA
N2873E
Aeronca 7AC
The private certificated pilot was landing on a gravel bar along a river. During the landing approach, the pilot said that the main landing gear tires contacted the surface of shallow water at the edge of the gravel bar. The airplane then nosed down and received damage to the propeller, wings, and the left wing lift strut.
On September 16, 2005, about 1800 Alaska daylight time, a tundra tire-equipped Aeronca 7AC airplane, N2873E, sustained substantial damage when it nosed down at a remote landing area, about 56 miles northeast of Coldfoot, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) local area personal flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. The airplane was operated by the pilot. The solo private certificated pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, 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 23, the pilot reported that he was landing on a gravel bar along the middle fork of the Chandalar River. During the landing approach, the pilot said that the main landing gear tires contacted the surface of shallow water at the edge of the gravel bar. The airplane then nosed down and received damage to the propeller, wings, and the left wing lift strut.
The pilot's misjudgment of distance/altitude during the landing flare/touchdown, which resulted in an undershoot and subsequent nosing down of the airplane when the main landing gear tires contacted shallow water prior to the intended landing site.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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