Primary finding
Probable cause
The pilot failed to maintain directional control of the airplane during the landing roll. A factor was the crosswind.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
The pilot said he was landing on a beach which sloped about 30 degrees down to the water. A crosswind was blowing from the water, which was on the right side of the airplane, at about 20 gusting to 25 knots. About 150 feet after touchdown, the airplane abruptly turned about 90 degrees to the left, the right main landing gear collapsed, and both wings hit the ground. The pilot said 'i guess the crosswind was too much for me.'
Source record
Factual narrative
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On September 19, 1993, at 0945 Alaska daylight time, the pilot of a wheel equipped Piper PA-14 airplane, N4259H, lost control and crashed while landing at a remote site at Yantarni Bay, located 50 miles east of Port Heiden, Alaska. The commercial pilot and the three passengers were not injured. The airplane was substantially damaged. The local business flight, operating under 14 CFR Part 91, departed another nearby remote site at 0930. Visual meteorological conditions existed, and no flight plan was filed. Shortly after the accident during a telephone interview, the pilot stated the following, in part: "The beach where I landed was firm ground and sloped down about 30 degrees toward the water. The right crosswind was coming off the water at about 20, gusting to 25 knots. About 150 feet after touchdown, I lost directional control of the airplane and it abruptly turned about 90 degrees to the left. The right main landing gear collapsed, the right wing hit the ground, then the left hit the ground. The right wing was bent up about 45 degrees outboard from the lift strut. The fuselage was also bent about 45 degrees to the side. The tailwheel also broke off, either before or during the ground loop. I guess the crosswind was too much for me." ADDITIONAL INFORMATION On November 12, 1993, the pilot delivered to the NTSB Investigator-in-Charge, what he said was the broken bolt from the airplane's tailwheel. Close examination found fracture marks that were consistent with instantaneous overload. -