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ANC15CA026

2015-05-16 · Talkeetna, Alaska, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Current FAA registration · N7347D

Make / Model
PIPER PA-22-150
Year of manufacture
1957 · 58 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES (180 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20151130
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A9DD38

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The private pilot's failure to maintain clearance from a spruce tree during final approach, which resulted in a loss of control and hard landing. Contributing to the accident was the flight instructor's failure to adequately monitor the landing.

Factual narrative

The flight instructor and private pilot were practicing takeoffs and landings in a float-equipped airplane. The flight instructor stated that on the seventh approach to landing, the private pilot misjudged the airplane's rate of descent, and struck the top of a spruce tree with the right elevator resulting in a full up deflection of the elevator. The airplane entered an uncontrolled descent, and impacted the water in a flat stalled condition sustaining substantial damage to the fuselage and elevator. The flight instructor stated that there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. In the recommendation section of the NTSB Accident/Incident Reporting Form 6120.1, the flight instructor stated that having personally flown with the pilot he had developed a sense of complacency, and the accident may have been avoided if he had been more vigilant, or conducted a more thorough preflight briefing. The flight instructor and private pilot were practicing takeoffs and landings in a float-equipped airplane. The flight instructor stated that on the seventh approach to landing, the private pilot misjudged the airplane's rate of descent, and struck the top of a spruce tree with the right elevator resulting in a full up deflection of the elevator. The airplane entered an uncontrolled descent, and impacted the water in a flat stalled condition sustaining substantial damage to the fuselage and elevator. The flight instructor stated that there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.   Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Descent/approach/glide path-Not attained/maintained - C
  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
  • F Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Task monitoring/vigilance-Instructor/check pilot - F

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2015_ANC15CA026.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

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Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (icing, stall, loss of control). All research papers