Accident Details
On October 2, 2008, at approximately 1535 Alaska daylight time, a Piper PA-18 airplane, registration N788, equipped with tundra tires, sustained substantial damage after nosing over during landing on a remote gravel bar. The accident site was located about 28 miles northwest of Anchorage, Alaska. The flight was conducted under Title 14, CFR Part 91 as a visual flight rules (VFR) local area flight.
Flight and Pilot Information
The airplane was operated by the U.S. Department of Interior, based in Anchorage, Alaska. The flight originated from the Lake Hood Airstrip in Anchorage at about 1300. Aboard were a commercial certificated pilot seated in the rear seat and an airline transport pilot seated in the front seat, both of whom held flight instructor certificates. Neither pilot was injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a VFR flight plan had been filed.
Accident Sequence
According to an investigator with the Department of Interior who interviewed with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge on October 6, 2008, the flight was intended for pilot proficiency and to scout landing areas for an off-airport landing clinic. Each pilot planned to fly from the rear seat during the clinic, and for this flight, the rear seat pilot had been designated as the pilot-in-command. The rear seat pilot selected a gravel bar along the Susitna River that was approximately 2,000 feet long. During the landing roll, he applied excessive braking, causing the airplane to nose over.
Damage
The aircraft received structural damage to the right wing lift strut and the left wing.