7 Jun 2009: PIPER PA-18-150 — HESTER JOHN T

7 Jun 2009: PIPER PA-18-150 — HESTER JOHN T

No fatalities • Tyonek, AK, United States

Probable cause

The pilot's selection of unsuitable terrain for landing.

— NTSB Determination

Accident narrative

The solo private pilot made a personal cross-country flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91. During an aborted landing on a beach, the airplane sustained substantial damage when it struck debris and impacted terrain. In a written statement the pilot said he didn't like the feel of the terrain during the landing, and added power to abort the landing. He said the airplane struck debris during the aborted landing. The pilot said there were no known mechanical problems with the airplane prior to the accident, and that the propeller and left main landing gear was damaged during the accident. He further stated that he should have looked over the landing area better prior to landing, and had a better exit plan. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge the mechanic who repaired the airplane, said he also repaired/replaced two nose ribs in the left wing's leading edge, and the left wingtip bow. He also replaced the damaged left lift strut at the owner's request.

Contributing factors

  • cause Pilot
  • Contributed to outcome
  • cause Decision related to condition

Conditions

Weather
VMC, wind 240/05kt, vis 10sm

Loading the flight search…

What you can do on Flight Finder

  • Search flights between any two airports with live fares.
  • By aircraft — pick a plane model (e.g. Boeing 787, Airbus A350) and see every route it flies from your origin.
  • Route map — click any airport worldwide to explore its destinations, or draw a radius to find nearby airports.
  • Global aviation safety — aviation accident database, 5,200+ records since 1980, with map and rankings by aircraft and operator.
  • NTSB safety feed — recent U.S. aviation accidents and incidents from the official NTSB CAROL database, updated daily.

Frequently asked questions

How do I search flights by aircraft type on FlightFinder?

Pick an aircraft model — Boeing 737, Airbus A320, A380, Boeing 787 Dreamliner and more — enter your origin airport, and FlightFinder shows every route that plane flies from there with live fares.

Which aircraft types can I filter by?

We support Boeing 737/747/757/767/777/787, the full Airbus A220/A319/A320/A321/A330/A340/A350/A380 family, Embraer E170/E175/E190/E195, Bombardier CRJ and Dash 8, and the ATR 42/72 turboprops.

Is FlightFinder free to use?

Search and schedules are free. Pro ($4.99/month, $39/year, or $99 one-time lifetime) unlocks the enriched flight card — on-time stats, CO₂ per passenger, amenities, live gate & weather — plus My Trips with push alerts.

Where does the route data come from?

Live schedules come from Amadeus, AeroDataBox and Travelpayouts. Observed routes (which aircraft actually flew a given city pair) are crowdsourced from adsb.lol ADS-B data under the Open Database License.