Piper PA-18-150 N8987Y

Summary

On 1 September 2021 at about 23:00 local time, a Piper PA-18-150 registered N8987Y was involved in an accident near Glennallen, 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

1 September 2021 at 23:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Glennallen, Alaska, United States

Coordinates

62.3333, -147.6758

Aircraft

Piper PA-18-150

Registration

N8987Y

Category

Airplane

Year built

1974

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Palmer → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC21LA101

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s improper landing flare while landing off-airport with a tailwind.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that before landing on an unimproved airstrip, he tried to identify the wind direction using a ribbon located at the high point along the airstrip that was above the treetops. He also over flew the airstrip both ways at about 1,500 ft to verify what the ribbon was showing. During the landing, the airplane was not aligned with the airstrip, and the left main landing gear touched down first, which imposed a significate side load to the left main landing gear assembly. After the landing, the pilot noticed that he had landed with a quartering tailwind. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and right-wing rear spar. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.