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N7051 accident description

Alaska map... Alaska list
Crash location 61.174445°N, 149.996389°W
Nearest city Anchorage, AK
61.218056°N, 149.900278°W
4.4 miles away
Tail number N7051
Accident date 09 Jul 2003
Aircraft type Piper PA-18-160
Additional details: None

NTSB Factual Report

On July 9, 2003, about 1400 Alaska daylight time, a Piper PA-18-160 airplane, N7051, sustained substantial damage when it collided with high brush during the landing roll on a dirt road, about 10 miles south of Anchorage, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) public use flight by the Alaska State Troopers at the time of the accident. The solo airline transport pilot was not injured. The flight departed the Soldotna Airport, Soldotna, Alaska, about 1315. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and company VFR flight following procedures were in effect.

During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) on July 9, the director of operations for the operator said the pilot was returning to Anchorage, from Soldotna, and decided to land on a dirt road for practice. According to the director of operations, the pilot told him he had landed on the dirt road several times before, but on the accident flight, the left wing encountered high brush during the landing roll, and the airplane was pulled off the road. Both of the airplane's wingtips and the left aileron were damaged.

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot's selection of unsuitable terrain for landing, which resulted in an encounter with high brush.

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