Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Mccall, Idaho 83638
Sunday, February 8, 2004 14:45 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

On his first touch-and-go the pilot touched down to check snow conditions, and then tried another area doing the same thing. During the second touchdown the pilot noticed the ski breaking through into water/slushy snow. The pilot then initiated a takeoff, and as soon as the airplane was off the surface the rear cable on the right ski broke, resulting in the ski pivoting so that the tip was pointing up. The pilot decided to land in the area where he had checked earlier. After setting up a slow, light touchdown on the lake, the right ski touched down and swiveled 180 degrees resulting in the aircraft nosing over, coming to rest in an inverted position. The outboard leading edge of the left wing was substantially damaged. During the annual inspection the pilot had replaced the right rear cable with a non-approved cable which he had procured from his hardware store.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The failure of the right rear ski cable and the owner's improper substitution of the right rear ski cable with an unapproved ski cable. A factor was the slushy snow.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/8/2004
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1445
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City McCall
Event State IDAHO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 83638
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 445614N
Event Location Longitude 1160601W
Event Location Airport --
Event Location Nearest Airport ID --
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 3
Degrees magnetic from airport 360
Airport Elevation 5021
Weather Briefing Completeness Partial - limited by pilot
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 4500
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 2400
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 6
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) -4
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 280
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.21
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Light
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 15602
NTSB Notification Source Seattle Regional Operations Ce
NTSB Notification Date Feb 8 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1530
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jun 3 2004 1:28PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Boise, Idaho

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N5753Z
NTSB Number SEA04LA039
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-18-150
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 18-8026
Certified Max Gross Weight 1760
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 Feb 7 2004 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 1
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Richard R. Fereday
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City McCall
Aircraft Owner State ID
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 83638
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
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? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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 MYL
Departure City McCall
Departure State ID
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1430
Departure Time Zone MST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City McCall
Destination State ID
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - flare/touchdown
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Mar 25 2004 1:22PM
User who most recently changed record STAM
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --