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Atlas / NTSB / ANC07CA004

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event ANC07CA004

2006-10-22 Anchorage, Alaska, United States Airport · PAMR None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N3404A

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

PIPER PA-20-135

Year of manufacture

1953 · 53 years old at event

Engine

LYCOMING 0-290 SERIES (140 hp)

Seats / Engines

4 seats · 1 engine

Last airworthiness date

19560620

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S A3C033

Registrant of record

LIBBY STEPHEN R TRUSTEE

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll, which resulted in an inadvertent ground loop and encounter with terrain. Factors associated with the accident were the ground loop and inadequate main wheel brakes.

Factual narrative

The commercial certificated pilot was practicing touch and go takeoffs and landings under Title 14, CFR Part 91. He said prior to takeoff, the airplane's brakes functioned, but worked "poorly." During the landing roll, he stated that the airplane veered sharply to the right, and he was unable to correct for the deviation using the brakes and rudder. He said the airplane exited the runway to the right, and ground-looped. The airplane received damage to the left wingtip, left elevator, fuselage lower longeron, and left main landing gear. The commercial certificated pilot was practicing touch and go takeoffs and landings under Title 14, CFR Part 91. He said prior to takeoff, the airplane's brakes functioned, but worked "poorly." During the landing roll, he stated that the airplane veered sharply to the right, and he was unable to correct for the deviation using the brakes and rudder. He said the airplane exited the runway to the right, and ground-looped. The airplane received damage to the left wingtip, left elevator, fuselage lower longeron, and left main landing gear. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2006_ANC07CA004.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Related research

What the literature says.

Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (icing). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.

Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗