Primary finding
Probable cause
The pilot's misjudged landing flare.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
The pilot reported he was landing his wheel/ski equipped airplane on a frozen, snow covered lake. He misjudged his first approach to land, and performed a go-around. On his second approach, he said he flared too high, and by the time he realized his mistake, it was too late to recover from the ensuing hard landing.
Source record
Factual narrative
On December 12, 1994, at 1330 Alaska standard time, a ski equipped Piper PA-18 airplane, N717DR, collided with terrain during a landing attempt on a lake near the Eureka Lake Lodge. The commercial certificated pilot and registered owner of the airplane, the sole occupant, was not injured and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The pleasure flight was being conducted under 14 CFR Part 91 when the mishap occurred. Visual meteorological conditions reportedly prevailed in the area and there was no flight plan on file. On the morning of December 14, 1994, the NTSB investigator- in-charge conducted a telephone interview with the pilot. The pilot said that he was in the process of repositioning his airplane from his home to the lake and that as a result of the flat light condition, he flared prematurely about 15 feet above the surface. The plane landed hard with resultant damage to both landing gear and the right wing. -