Piper PA-18-150 N4285Z

Summary

On 2 November 1999 at about 23:50 local time, a Piper PA-18-150 registered N4285Z, operated by James M. Elegante, was involved in an accident near Bullfrog, Utah, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

2 November 1999 at 23:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Bullfrog, Utah, United States

Nearest airport

Bullfrog Basin Airport (U07)

Coordinates

37.5695, -110.3208

Aircraft

Piper PA-18-150

Registration

N4285Z

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

James M. Elegante

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Moab → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN00LA014

Nobody was injured.

The pilot-in-command's failure to maintain directional control of the aircraft during landing roll. Factors were the pilot's lack of total experience in type of aircraft and the fence.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot's landing on runway 19 was normal and the wind was calm. During landing roll, the aircraft departed the runway to the right, traveled down a 10 degree embankment and struck a fence. The pilot said he applied left rudder pressure without effect. According to an FAA inspector who interviewed the pilot following the accident, the pilot told him that he may have inadvertently applied pressure to the rudder pedal rather than to the brake. A functional test of the rudder and brake system was performed and no discrepancies were noted. The pilot had accumulated a total of 7 hours in the PA-18-150, 2 of which were as pilot-in-command. He had received his tailwheel endorsement on the day of the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.