No fatalities

29 Jul 2020: Piper PA18 150 — Chisana, AK

Chisana, AK, United States

On 29 Jul 2020, a Piper PA18 150 was involved in an aviation accident near Chisana, AK. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot's overapplication of brakes during landing in gusting tailwind conditions, which resulted in a nose-over. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 12 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 1778583330Data APIEditorial standards

A tailwheel airplane nosed over during landing on an uphill, 800-foot unimproved airstrip after encountering a strong tailwind gust. The pilot reported landing beyond the intended point and applying full brakes to avoid terrain. Substantial damage occurred to the vertical stabilizer and wing lift struts.

Accident Narrative

The pilot of a tailwheel-equipped airplane reported that during landing on an uphill, 800-ft-long unimproved airstrip, the airplane encountered a strong tailwind gust. The pilot landed the airplane beyond the intended point of landing and applied full brakes to avoid hitting terrain. Subsequently, the airplane nosed over. The vertical stabilizer and the wing lift struts sustained substantial damage.

The pilot stated that before the accident, the wind on nearby lakes was light from the west, and he anticipated a tailwind landing to the east. However, after the accident, the wind was gusting to 25 knots. The pilot added that the airstrip had no safe go-around route due to terrain and slope.

Pilot's Additional Comments

The pilot stated that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Contributing factors

PilotResponse/compensationContributed to outcome