ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 44850
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| Date: | Friday 21 May 2004 |
| Time: | 21:00 |
| Type: |  Piper PA-18-150 Super Cub |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N4319Z |
| MSN: | 18-8632 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1967 |
| Engine model: | Lycoming O-320 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Cold Bay, AK -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Executive |
| Departure airport: | Cold Bay, AK |
| Cold Bay, AK | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On May 21, 2004, about 2100 Alaska daylight time, a float-equipped Piper PA-18-150 airplane, N4319Z, sustained substantial damage during a collision with terrain following an in-flight loss of control 10 miles northwest of Cold Bay, Alaska. The airplane was being operated by the pilot as a visual flight rules (VFR) business flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. The airline transport pilot received serious injuries, and the sole passenger received fatal injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and company flight following procedures were in effect. The flight originated at an un-named float pond, about 45 miles northwest of Cold Bay.
The airline transport certificated pilot of the float-equipped airplane took off from a lake, about 7 miles from a lodge en route to an un-named float pond to retrieve a guide and equipment. When the airplane did not return, a co-worker reported it missing. The wreckage was located about 10 miles from the lodge, near the lake where it originally took off. The pilot, guide, and the equipment from the camp were in the airplane. The pilot received serious injuries, and the sole passenger, the guide, received fatal injuries. The accident site was on a rolling, tundra-covered coastal plain, with no trees, and no brush taller than 18 inches. The wings were bent downward symmetrically from the centerline of the fuselage, and touching the ground. The tail was bent 20-30 degrees to the left aft of the cabin. The horizontal stabilizer was parallel to the ground and undamaged. The floats were displaced aft about 24 inches, spread apart, and had impacted the bottom of the wings. The leading edges of both wings were straight with little damage. There were no ground scars indicating forward motion, and dirt spray forward was minimal. Both propeller blades exhibited chord-wise scratching, and leading edge gouging. Postaccident inspection disclosed that the engine's sparkplugs were clean and dry. The engine exhaust manifolds exhibited sharp creases and bending without cracking at the folds. The throttle was full forward, mixture full rich, carburetor heat cold, and the engine primer in and locked. The right wing fuel tank was selected, and fuel was found in both wing tanks, the header tank, and gascolator. The throttle was in the full power position. The magneto selector was in the "both" position. The airplane's flap handle was mechanically captured in the flaps extended position, and the elevator trim was set in the forward (nose down) position. The floats, forward fuselage, and nose-bowl exhibited crush-lines diverging upward 25-35 degrees from the longitudinal axis of the airplane. The inspection disclosed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical anomalies with the the engine or airframe.
Probable Cause: A loss of engine power during the final approach to land for an undetermined reason, and the pilot's failure to maintain airspeed during the ensuing emergency descent, which resulted in an inadvertent stall. A factor associated with the accident was the stall.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20040610X00783&key=1
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 16 May 1996 | N4319Z | Private | 0 | Cold Bay, AK | |
sub |
| 5 May 1998 | N4319Z | Private | 0 | Talkeetna, AK | |
sub |
Location
Images:
Photos: NTSB
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 28-Oct-2008 00:45 | ASN archive | Added |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:24 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 07-Dec-2017 17:59 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
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