ANC04LA002

Factual narrative

On October 11, 2003, about 1230 Alaska daylight time, a tailwheel-equipped Piper PA-18-150 airplane, N3573P, sustained substantial damage following a loss of control during an aborted landing and subsequent ground loop at the Ketchikan Airport, Ketchikan, Alaska. The airplane was being operated by the pilot as a visual flight rules (VFR) personal flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91 when the accident occurred. The solo private pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) on October 21, the FAA inspector who interviewed the pilot said the pilot was performing touch-and-go landings. He said the pilot told him the airplane landed hard and bounced, and he applied power to abort the landing, but the airplane stalled, settled off the right side of the runway, and ground looped. The inspector said the airplane sustained structural damage to the landing gear, right wing, and fuselage. In a telephone conversation with the IIC on January 21, 2004, and in a written statement provided by the pilot dated February 25, 2004, the pilot said he was practicing wheel landings when he lost directional control of the airplane after touchdown. He said he applied full power to regain directional control, but the airplane lifted off too steeply, and stalled to the right. The pilot said after touching down the second time, the airplane ground looped. The private pilot was practicing touch and go landings in a tailwheel-equipped airplane. He reported he lost directional control during a wheel landing, and he applied full power in an attempt to regain control, but the airplane lifted off steeply and stalled. The airplane subsequently descended off the right side of the runway and ground looped, receiving structural damage to the landing gear, right wing, and fuselage. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12