Piper PA-18-180 N5373Y

Summary

On 13 January 2023 at about 21:01 local time, a Piper PA-18-180 registered N5373Y was involved in an accident near Glennallen, Alaska, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

13 January 2023 at 21:01

Classification

Accident

Location

Glennallen, Alaska, United States

Coordinates

62.0067, -147.3064

Aircraft

Piper PA-18-180

Registration

N5373Y

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Wasilla → Eureka

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC23LA018

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot’s failure to maintain airspeed during a drag maneuver, which resulted in an overrun and subsequent impact with terrain.

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 his wheel/ski-equipped airplane at a snow-covered airstrip, he elected to “drag” the site, which involved doing a series of touch-and-go landings to determine the snow conditions before doing a full stop landing. He said that after completing two successful drags on the untouched snow, during the third, he inadvertently allowed the airspeed to decay, and he was unable to get airborne again. The airplane subsequently passed the end of the airstrip and impacted a snow-covered gravel berm. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing and fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.