Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Talkeetna, Alaska 99676
Saturday, June 6, 2009 11:00 AKD

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The commercial pilot was on a passenger flight to an off-airport site when, during final approach to land, he allowed the airspeed to get too low and the airplane started to stall. He said that he initiated a stall recovery, but that the airplane landed hard and the main landing gear collapsed. The pilot said that there were no known mechanical problems with the airplane prior to the accident. The left wing spar was damaged in the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed on final approach, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and hard landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/6/2009
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1100
Event Time Zone --
Event City Talkeetna
Event State ALASKA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 99676
Event Date Year 2009
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 622907N
Event Location Longitude 1493532W
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 --
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 Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Unknown
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 Variable
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Light and Variable
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 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) 25683
NTSB Notification Source FAA Anchorage ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Aug 18 2009 11:11AM
User who most recently changed record johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N7796Y
NTSB Number ANC09CA051
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
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-18-150
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 18-8409
Certified Max Gross Weight 1650
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 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Aug 12 2008 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 4051
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type C91-A
Aircraft Owner Name WIEDERKEHR WILLIAM D
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City PALMER
Aircraft Owner State AK
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 99645-1422
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name WIEDERKEHR WILLIAM D
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City PALMER
Operator State AK
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 99645-1422
Operator Code EMKC
Owner has at least one certificate Yes - certificate holder
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not Non-scheduled
Indicates Domestic or International Flight Domestic
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail Passenger Only
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) --
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code PATK
Departure City Talkeetna
Departure State AK
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1030
Departure Time Zone ADT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City Talkeetna
Destination State AK
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jul 7 2009 4:37PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --