Piper PA-18-150 N3471Z

Summary

On 11 December 2012 at about 15:00 local time, a Piper PA-18-150 registered N3471Z was involved in an accident near Okaton, South Dakota, 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

11 December 2012 at 15:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Okaton, South Dakota, United States

Nearest airport

Private airstrip (PVT)

Coordinates

43.8861, -100.8919

Aircraft

Piper PA-18-150

Registration

N3471Z

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Okaton → Okaton

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN13CA108

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to perform an adequate preflight inspection of the airplane and obstruction of the aileron control system by snow and ice, which led to a loss of control during flight.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that 2 days before the accident, snow accumulated on the airplane’s wings while it was parked in an open front hangar. The day before the accident, the temperature was warmer, and the pilot believed that the snow melted and ran rearward to the aileron gap/hinge locations, re-freezing during the nighttime hours. On the day of the accident, the pilot was in a hurry to use the airplane to check his pastures and brushed the snow off of the wings but did not perform a thorough preflight check of the airplane, including checking freedom of movement of the ailerons. After takeoff, the airplane began turning to the left. The pilot attempted to correct the turn, but the airplane did not respond. When he looked out at the wings, he could see that the ailerons were not responding to control inputs as they should. As he was attempting to regain control, the airplane descended into trees, resulting in substantial damage to both wings, the fuselage, and tail surfaces. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no mechanical defects that were determined to have existed before the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.