Piper PA 18-150 N3897Z

Summary

On 13 June 2015 at about 22:54 local time, a Piper PA 18-150 registered N3897Z, operated by Phillip Sturm, was involved in an accident near McCarthy, Alaska, 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

13 June 2015 at 22:54

Classification

Accident

Location

McCarthy, Alaska, United States

Coordinates

62.1003, -145.5292

Aircraft

Piper PA 18-150

Registration

N3897Z

Category

Airplane

Year built

1962

Engines

1

Operator

Phillip Sturm

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

McCarthy → McCarthy

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC15CA039

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's excessive use of wheel brakes during landing, resulting in a nose over.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was landing his tundra-tire equipped tailwheel airplane on a remote, sandy landing area. During the landing roll, he stated that he used too much braking in the soft sand, and the airplane nosed over, sustaining substantial damage to the empennage. The pilot stated that there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.