History of Flight
On July 2, 2014, at 0820 Alaska daylight time, a Piper PA-12 airplane, registration N3512M, collided with terrain shortly after departing from Merrill Field Airport in Anchorage, Alaska. The airplane climbed steeply, then descended vertically and struck the ground. The private pilot received fatal injuries, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan filed, and visual meteorological conditions prevailed.
Air traffic control (ATC) audio indicates the pilot received takeoff clearance for runway 25 with departure and altitude instructions, which he acknowledged. No further radio communication was heard. Witnesses reported that after takeoff, the airplane's climb became progressively steeper, and it did not level off. One witness described the pitch increase as slow and continuous, as if the pilot had no ability to stop it. The airplane then pitched down, the engine power reduced to idle, and it descended vertically. Another witness observed the nose pitch up steeply before pivoting to a nose-down attitude and descending straight to the ground. The engine went quiet around the time of the pivot. The airplane struck the ground nose-first and slowly tipped inverted. Fuel leaked from the wreckage, and witnesses attempted to assist and used a fire extinguisher.
Personnel Information
The pilot held a commercial certificate for lighter-than-air balloons and private pilot privileges for single-engine land and sea airplanes. He received a second-class medical certificate on April 29, 2014, with a requirement to wear corrective lenses. He reported 400 total flight hours, with 3 hours in the preceding 6 months. His logbooks were not located; a certified flight instructor stated she conducted a flight review with him in a Cessna 172 ten days before the accident, noting he had not flown in nearly two years but performed well. She recalled the pilot mentioned rebuilding the airplane and looked forward to flying soon.
Aircraft Information
The accident airplane was a 1947 Piper PA-12 (serial number 12-2664) equipped with a Lycoming O-320-A2A engine. It had modifications including PA-18 horizontal stabilizers, elevators, and elevator controls, consistent with supplemental type certificate SA190AL. Maintenance records indicated an annual inspection on August 10, 2007, at an airframe total time of 3,237.0 hours and engine time since overhaul of 232.8 hours. No entries existed after that date. The tachometer at the accident site read 243.9 hours. The airplane had been undergoing rebuild and modifications for several years, performed by the pilot with supervision reported by an airframe and powerplant mechanic with inspection authorization. The pilot's vehicle contained a handwritten list of equipment items, including "elevator torq tube routing."
Meteorological Information
At 0753, the airport reported calm wind, 10 miles visibility, scattered clouds at 8,000 feet, temperature 15°C, dew point 9°C, and altimeter 29.92 inHg. At 0848, wind was from 320° at 4 knots, visibility 10 miles, and clear skies.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The airplane came to rest inverted on grass north of runway 25. The nose was crushed aft, and the propeller displayed chordwise scoring and tip curling, adjacent to a linear ground crater. The engine was displaced aft into the cockpit, and the front seat impinged into the rear seat. Both wings sustained leading-edge crush damage. All flight control surfaces remained attached.
Examination revealed that the elevator control cables were misrigged: they were attached to the opposite locations on the upper and lower elevator control horn, resulting in reversal of elevator control inputs. When the rear control stick was moved aft (to command nose-up), the elevator deflected downward (producing nose-down). Aileron and rudder controls moved correctly. The engine was removed for access; damage precluded establishing control cable continuity for the front stick.
Medical and Pathological Information
An autopsy determined the cause of death as blunt force injuries. Toxicology detected no carbon monoxide or ethanol. Salicylate, an over-the-counter analgesic, was found in the urine.
Additional Information
The airplane's preflight checklist included a "BEFORE TAKEOFF" item: "CONTROLS – FREE AND CORRECT." A pilot in a PA-12 can view the elevator from the seat and during preflight can see corresponding movements. The NTSB issued Safety Alerts SA-041 and SA-042 in March 2015 regarding preflight after maintenance and preventing misrigging mistakes.