Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Mc Grath Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Mcgrath, Alaska 99627
Saturday, July 20, 1996 11:59 AKD
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot reported that the left, over-sized Tundra tire deflated and the left wing subsequently struck the ground while he was taxiing for takeoff at Mc Grath, Alaska. The pilot was involved in an accident a week earlier with the same airplane when the main landing gear collapsed while landing at a rural mining airstrip. At the previous accident site, the pilot made unauthorized repairs to the landing gear and wing lift struts. He fashioned a main gear leg from iron water pipe, and taped boards to the lift struts. He then elected to fly the airplane to Palmer, Alaska, so that additional repairs could be made. He made an interim stop at Mc Grath for gas, but did not seek repairs from any aviation repair facility prior to his attempted departure. Discussion with Tundra tire experts disclosed that proper landing gear geometry is essential for safe operation. If the landing gear geometry is incorrect, additional side loads will be placed on the tire, which may cause it to rotate on the rim, slicing the valve stem and allowing the tire to deflate.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The improper and unauthorized repair of the main landing gear by the pilot, and the pilot's decision to operate the airplane with known deficiencies.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 7/20/1996 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1159 |
| Event Time Zone | -- |
| Event City | MCGRATH |
| Event State | ALASKA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 99627 |
| Event Date Year | 1996 |
| Event Date Month | 7 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | |
| Event Location Longitude | |
| Event Location Airport | MC GRATH |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | MCG |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 337 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1153 Atlantic Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | MCG |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 337 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | ADT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 1100 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 45 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 24 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 14 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 190 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 5 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Unknown |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | None |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | 1 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 857 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jul 20 1996 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1732 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 8 2000 10:11AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N2561N |
| NTSB Number | ANC96LA105 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Piper |
| Aircraft Model | PA-18 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | PA-18 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 18-8009038 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1750 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 2 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Aug 3 1995 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 138 |
| Airframe Hours | 3313 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | ARTHUR R. FIELD, JR. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | P.O. BOX 13 |
| Aircraft Owner City | KOTZEBUE |
| Aircraft Owner State | AK |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 99752 |
| Operator is an individual? | -- |
| Operator Name | TYRELL G. ROSS |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 1605 OBSERVATORY DR. |
| Operator City | GOLDENDALE |
| Operator State | WA |
| Operator Country | |
| Operator Zip code | 98620 |
| Operator Code | |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | Unknown |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | -- |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | -- |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | -- |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Personal |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | |
| Departure City | KOTZEBUE |
| Departure State | AK |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 1000 |
| Departure Time Zone | ADT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | PAQ |
| Destination City | PALMER |
| Destination State | AK |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Taxi |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 2 2001 10:34AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 7 |
| Runway Length | 1720 |
| Runway Width | 100 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |