Primary finding
Probable cause
The pilot did not maintain control of the airplane. A factor in the accident was the pilot's lack of total experience in the specific make/model/type of aircraft.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
The private pilot with 65 total flight hours and 4.8 hours in the specific make/model was attempting to land his airplane at a private grass strip. On initial touchdown, the airplane bounced into the air. The plane's left wing struck some brush and the main landing gear contacted the runway again. The pilot reduced the plane's engine power to idle and applied the wheel brakes at which time the plane nosed over.
Source record
Factual narrative
On August 3, 1994, at 1800 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Stinson 108 airplane, N97294, owned and operated by the pilot-in-command, nosed over during a landing attempt on a private (no name) strip near Salcha, Alaska. The private certificated pilot and his one passenger, the sole occupants, were not injured and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The pleasure flight, conducted under 14 CFR Part 91, last departed the Bradley Lake airstrip at North Pole, Alaska at 1730 and the intended destination was the private strip in Salcha. The pilot reported he did not file a flight plan and that visual meteorological conditions prevailed with clear skies and no wind. The pilot reported that he made a three point landing and the airplane bounced into the air. The left wing contacted some brush and the main landing gear contacted the landing strip again. The pilot reduced the plane's engine power to idle while applying the wheel brakes and the airplane nosed over. -