Piper PA-18-150 N8451Y

Summary

On 20 April 2012 at about 17:30 local time, a Piper PA-18-150 registered N8451Y was involved in an accident near Sierraville, California, 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

20 April 2012 at 17:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Sierraville, California, United States

Nearest airport

Sierraville (O79)

Coordinates

39.5822, -120.3519

Aircraft

Piper PA-18-150

Registration

N8451Y

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Sierraville → Sierraville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR12CA177

Nobody was injured.

The pilot did not maintain directional control during the landing roll.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot had just performed two uneventful practice landings in the tailwheel-equipped airplane. For the third attempt, he performed a three-point landing, and the airplane began to drift left. He countered with full engine power, but the airplane drifted beyond the runway edge. The landing gear then struck a berm, and the airplane bounced into the air, snagging a barbed wire fence. The main landing gear subsequently dug into the earth, and the airplane nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer and both wings during the accident sequence. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.