Rittal Alfred Timothy GLASTAR N55XP

Summary

On 23 September 2009 at about 01:00 local time, a Rittal Alfred Timothy GLASTAR registered N55XP, operated by Rittal Alfred Timothy, was involved in an accident near Tuluksak, Alaska, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

23 September 2009 at 01:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Tuluksak, Alaska, United States

Nearest airport

Na (NA)

Coordinates

60.7381, -159.5778

Aircraft

Rittal Alfred Timothy GLASTAR

Registration

N55XP

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Rittal Alfred Timothy

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Anchorage → Tuluksak

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC09CA106

1 person was seriously injured.

A loss of control for an undetermined reason during the takeoff portion of an aborted landing at an off-airport site, resulting in a collision with terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot stated that he was on a Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal cross-country flight, and was attempting to land at a remote off-airport site adjacent to a creek. He said in a written statement to the NTSB that he flew over the site to inspect it prior to landing. He said he was on final approach to land when the airplane started to sink, landed hard, and he aborted the landing by applying power to takeoff. The next thing he says he recalls is waking up in the creek near the landing site. The pilot noted in his written statement that there were no preaccident mechanical problems with the airplane, and thought he had encountered a downdraft. In a later conversation with an NTSB investigator, he reported that friends who recovered the airplane saw glass fragments from the left wing's navigation lights on the runway, perhaps indicating the left main landing gear had collapsed on touchdown. The pilot said he had no recollection of this occurring, but said it was possible. The airplane was further damaged when it was dropped from a helicopter during the recovery flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.