Pilot Debrief

PIPER PA-18-150 near Austin, NV — 2011-01-13

Final reportWPR11CA098
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Date
2011-01-13
Location
Austin, NV, USA
Aircraft
PIPER PA-18-150
Registration
N4030Z
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Takeoff roll

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during the takeoff roll.

NTSB narrative

The pilot was on a local flight around his home airport when he decided to see how much snow was on the local mountains. He observed a ridge top airstrip where he had landed on several previous occasions, and saw that most of it was blown clear of snow. He overflew the airstrip, decided that it looked good, and made an uneventful landing. He walked around a bit, looked at snow depths, and then departed back to his home airport. During the takeoff roll, the airplane drifted too far to the right over what he thought was ground covered with light snow. It was actually a snow drift made from snow that had blown to the side of the ridge. The airplane started pulling to the right as a result of contact with the snow drift. The pilot still thought that the airplane would take off without difficulty, but the right main tire broke through the crust and dug in. The airplane nosed over onto the snow drift, resulting in substantial damage to the right wing and fuselage.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Loss of control
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have aborted takeoff upon realizing the ground was not solid.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • 1 docket document
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents1

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