Girdwood Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Gridwood, Alaska 99587
Sunday, March 11, 2007 19:15 AST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The private certificated pilot was conducting a cross-country personal flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91. He indicated that he checked the few sources available to determine the condition of the destination airport's unmonitored runway. Upon arrival he made a low pass over the snow-covered runway, and said it looked like it had been plowed due to the berm on either side. He said during landing, the wheel-equipped airplane came to an abrupt stop in deep snow, damaging the right wing and propeller when they struck the ground. He stated that there were no mechanical problems with the airplane prior to the accident. The FAA's Alaska Airport Supplement states, in part: Unattended, runway not monitored, recommend visual inspection prior to landing.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's selection of a snow-covered runway for landing, which resulted in a quick stop and damage to the airplane. A factor associated with the accident was the snow-covered runway.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/11/2007
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1915
Event Time Zone Atlantic Standard Time
Event City Gridwood
Event State ALASKA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 99587
Event Date Year 2007
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 605758N
Event Location Longitude 1490733W
Event Location Airport Girdwood
Event Location Nearest Airport ID AQY
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 --
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 --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) 0
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
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 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 21549
NTSB Notification Source FAA Anchorage, ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record May 29 2007 12:24PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\lema
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2911X
NTSB Number ANC07CA024
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
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 177
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 17700311
Certified Max Gross Weight 2350
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft --
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Aug 1 2006 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 4791
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Colonel W. Lindsey
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Anchorage
Aircraft Owner State AK
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode --
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 --
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code MRI
Departure City Anchorage
Departure State AK
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1845
Departure Time Zone AST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code AQY
Destination City Gridwood
Destination State AK
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - flare/touchdown
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Apr 26 2007 1:59PM
User who most recently changed record LABJ
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 19
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --