Primary finding
Probable cause
The pilot's selection of unsuitable terrain. Factors associated with the accident were the tailwind and soft terrain.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
After landing on a beach, the pilot turned downwind to taxi. The airplane's wheels contacted soft sand, and the airplane nosed over.
Source record
Factual narrative
On August 2, 1997, at 1600 Alaska daylight time, a Cessna 180 tailwheel equipped airplane, N9044M, sustained substantial damage when it nosed over in soft sand while taxiing from landing at Patton Bay, Montague Island, about 19 miles east of Port Ashton, Alaska, at position 59-55.0 degrees north latitude, 147-30.0 degrees west longitude. The airline transport certificated pilot and single passenger were uninjured. The flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91 as a personal flight from Palmer to Montague Island, and visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The pilot stated that after landing on the beach, he turned to taxi up the beach with a quartering tailwind. The wheels contacted soft sand and the airplane nosed over, damaging the propeller and aft wing spars. -