N/A Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Holy Cross, Alaska 99602
Wednesday, September 24, 2014 15:30 AKD

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot was landing on a remote off-airport site in a tailwheel-equipped airplane. He stated that the landing area was on a 15-degree slope. The landing was uneventful, but shortly after stopping the airplane, a gust of wind turned the airplane so the nose was pointing down the hill. The airplane began rolling down the slope, and then nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer, rudder, and wing. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's selection of unsuitable terrain for takeoff/landing and failure to maintain control of the aircraft.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/24/2014
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1530
Event Time Zone --
Event City Holy Cross
Event State ALASKA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 99602
Event Date Year 2014
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 621205N
Event Location Longitude 1613420W
Event Location Airport N/A
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 Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 2356 Coordinated Universal Time? Same as GMT
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 164
Weather Observation Facility ID PARS
Elevation of weather observation facility 51
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 27
Time Zone of the weather observation UTC
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 3000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 3000
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) 10
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 2
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 330
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.03
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report METAR PARS 242356Z AUTO 33007KT 10SM CLR 10/02 A30
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) 33445
NTSB Notification Source Anchorage FAA ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 6 2014 6:34PM
User who most recently changed record frem-i
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N3148M
NTSB Number ANC14CA088
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
Type of Flight Plan filed Company VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name PIPER
Aircraft Model PA 12
Aircraft Series Identifier NO SERIES
Aircraft Serial Number 12-1835
Certified Max Gross Weight 1935
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats 1
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats 1
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Sep 13 2014 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 7023.8
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type C126
Aircraft Owner Name Matthew Thoft
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Palmer
Aircraft Owner State AK
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 99645
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Matthew Thoft
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
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate Yes - certificate holder
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 Non-scheduled
Indicates Domestic or International Flight Domestic
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail Cargo
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) --
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code HCA
Departure City HOLY CROSS
Departure State AK
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1430
Departure Time Zone AKD
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City Holy Cross
Destination State AK
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Nov 21 2014 6:32PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --