Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Birchwood Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Chugiak, Alaska 99567
Thursday, December 14, 2000 14:00 AST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The commercial certificated pilot had just gotten the airplane from a maintenance facility after the engine had been disassembled. The engine was reinstalled by a mechanic who made several engine runs to check for leaks and proper rigging of the engine controls. The pilot said an engine run-up to 1,700 rpm before takeoff was normal. Just after lift-off, the pilot said the engine did not seem to be producing full power, and the airplane would not climb above about 300 feet. He decided to return to the airport, and when the pilot pulled the throttle control to idle, the engine power did not change. It continued to run at less than full throttle, but he could not make any power changes, up or down. The pilot said he descended to the runway, but since he could not reduce power, continued to fly down the length of the runway until reaching the end. He said he was flying at low level, and did not remember to shut-off the engine with the mixture or magnetos. Upon reaching the end of the runway, he banked the airplane to the left along a taxiway. The taxiway abruptly ended at a six feet high fence. The airplane collided with the fence, and then struck numerous trees beyond the fence. The airplane received damage to the engine, wings, and fuselage. The mechanic, and another mechanic employee observed the airplane climb to about 500 feet and then return for landing. During the landing, the airplane touched down on the runway for about 5 to 7 seconds on the main landing gear tires. The touchdown point appeared to be about mid-length of the runway. The airplane then lifted off to about 40 feet until reaching the end of the runway. It banked hard to the left, bounced the main wheels on the taxiway, and disappeared from view. After the accident, the mechanic recovered the airplane. During a postaccident examination of the engine, the nut that clamps the throttle linkage to the carburetor throttle arm, was found to be loose.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The failure of a mechanic to ensure the throttle linkage was secure. A factor in the accident was the pilot's failure to take remedial action during an emergency landing and overrun.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 12/14/2000 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 1400 |
| Event Time Zone | Atlantic Standard Time |
| Event City | CHUGIAK |
| Event State | ALASKA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 99567 |
| Event Date Year | 2000 |
| Event Date Month | 12 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | -- |
| Event Location Longitude | -- |
| Event Location Airport | BIRCHWOOD |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | PABV |
| 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 | 96 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1355 Atlantic Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | PAB |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 96 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | AST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 18 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 10 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 0 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 0 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Calm |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30 |
| 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) | 10002 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Dec 14 2000 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1410 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 17 2001 8:35AM |
| User who most recently changed record | MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N4955A |
| NTSB Number | ANC01LA023 |
| 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 | Cessna |
| Aircraft Model | 180 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | 180 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 32352 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2650 |
| 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 | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | May 4 2000 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 17 |
| Airframe Hours | 4400 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | LAWRENCE W. SEETHALER |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 6432 REGENT DR. |
| Aircraft Owner City | ANCHORAGE |
| Aircraft Owner State | AK |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 99504 |
| Operator is an individual? | -- |
| Operator Name | |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | |
| Operator City | |
| Operator State | |
| Operator Country | |
| Operator Zip code | |
| 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 | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | PABV |
| Departure City | |
| Departure State | |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 1400 |
| Departure Time Zone | AST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | PAED |
| Destination City | ANCHORAGE |
| Destination State | AK |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 27 2001 3:40PM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 19R |
| Runway Length | 4010 |
| Runway Width | 100 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |