Cessna 180 N2253C

Summary

On 14 February 2016 at about 23:15 local time, a Cessna 180 registered N2253C, operated by Crow Jack R, was involved in an accident near Sleetmute, 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

14 February 2016 at 23:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Sleetmute, Alaska, United States

Nearest airport

Sleetmute (SLQ)

Coordinates

61.2067, -157.1672

Aircraft

Cessna 180

Registration

N2253C

Category

Airplane

Year built

1953

Engines

1

Operator

Crow Jack R

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Bethel → Sleetmute

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC16CA014

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's decision to make contact with an unsuitable landing surface, 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 on a personal cross-country flight to a remote, off-airport site, in a tailwheel-equipped airplane. The pilot said that before landing he intended to fly a low pass over the snow-covered site to determine the condition of the snowpack, a maneuver commonly known as dragging the landing site. He said that as the main landing gear wheels touched down atop the frozen layer of crusty snow, the wheels broke through, and the airplane subsequently nosed over sustaining substantial damage to the left wing and vertical stabilizer.   The pilot stated there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.