Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Kenney Lake Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Copper Center, Alaska 99573
Friday, April 16, 2004 12:25 AKD
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
Following completion of an annual inspection, the private certificated pilot departed a private airstrip located adjacent to the maintenance facility. The airstrip was muddy and wet, with puddles of standing water. The pilot said the sky condition was about 5,500 feet overcast, visibility was about 50 miles, and the temperature was about 45 degrees F. During takeoff, the pilot said that he encountered a puddle of water that splashed over the windshield. After takeoff, about 50 feet above the ground, the engine power began to slowly decrease. There was no engine roughness or sputtering. As the engine rpm decreased, the airplane lost altitude, and the pilot selected an emergency landing area in a snow-covered field. During landing in the snow, the airplane spun to the left, the right main landing gear collapsed, and the right wing struck the ground. The pilot said the airplane received damage to the right gear, the right wing, and the fuselage. The airplane was retrieved and examined by the maintenance facility mechanic and the pilot. No mechanical malfunction was found. The mechanic reported to an FAA inspector that during the takeoff roll the airplane encountered several puddles of water. The mechanic also indicated that "the temperature and environmental conditions were ideal for carburetor icing, and poor runway conditions were a contributing factor in the accident."
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's selection of unsuitable terrain for takeoff, and his failure to utilize carburetor heat, which resulted in a loss of engine power during takeoff initial climb, and a subsequent encounter with snow-covered terrain. Factors contributing to the accident were standing water puddles that washed over the airplane during takeoff, and carburetor icing conditions.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 4/16/2004 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 1225 |
| Event Time Zone | -- |
| Event City | Copper Center |
| Event State | ALASKA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 99573 |
| Event Date Year | 2004 |
| Event Date Month | 4 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | -- |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | -- |
| Event Location Latitude | 614400N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1445700W |
| Event Location Airport | Kenney Lake |
| 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 | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 1000 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| 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 | 5500 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 50 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 7 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -- |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 180 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 3 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | -- |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 1 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 16212 |
| NTSB Notification Source | Alaska State Troopers |
| NTSB Notification Date | Apr 16 2004 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1250 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 29 2004 1:02PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | FAA-AL-ANC FSDO 03 |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N3029M |
| NTSB Number | ANC04LA040 |
| 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-12 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 12-1720 |
| 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 | Apr 2 2004 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 0 |
| Airframe Hours | 5338 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Douglas R. Cranor |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Valdez |
| Aircraft Owner State | AK |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 99686 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| 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? | -- |
| 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 | -- |
| Departure City | Copper Center |
| Departure State | AK |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1225 |
| Departure Time Zone | ADT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | VDZ |
| Destination City | VALDEZ |
| Destination State | AK |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff - initial climb |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 16 2004 2:58PM |
| User who most recently changed record | PETL |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 09 |
| Runway Length | 1000 |
| Runway Width | 20 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |