Piper PA-18A 150 N3573P

Summary

On 19 March 2011 at about 21:00 local time, a Piper PA-18A 150 registered N3573P was involved in an accident near Beluga Lake, Alaska, United States. One person was 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

19 March 2011 at 21:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Beluga Lake, Alaska, United States

Coordinates

60.5147, -152.0883

Aircraft

Piper PA-18A 150

Registration

N3573P

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Anchorage → Anchorage

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC11CA020

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's decision to land on unsuitable terrain, resulting in the airplane nosing over.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that he was landing the ski-equipped airplane on a glacier when the left ski got caught in the snow, and the airplane nosed over. The left wing and the vertical stabilizer sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane. The airplane was equipped with a required emergency locator transmitter (ELT), however, it was an older generation ELT that transmitted on 121.5 megahertz, not the newer, digital version that transmits on 406 megahertz. As of February 1, 2009, the search and rescue satellites that receive ELT signals no longer had the capability to receive the older analog 121.5 megahertz ELTs. The 406 megahertz ELTs are received within seconds of activation, and rescuers are notified within minutes of the accident location. In this accident, the pilot was missing for four days, but was able to hike off the glacier, where he was located by rescuers.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.