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Atlas / NTSB / ANC21LA082

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event ANC21LA082

2021-08-30 Soldotna, Alaska, United States Airport · SXQ None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N3419A

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

PIPER PA-22-135

Year of manufacture

1953 · 68 years old at event

Engine

LYCOMING 0-290 SERIES (140 hp)

Seats / Engines

4 seats · 1 engine

Last airworthiness date

19550924

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S A3C499

Registrant of record

PAUL AMY K

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during landing, which resulted in a ground-loop.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that, during the landing roll-out she reached down to retract the flaps and the tailwheel-equipped airplane began to veer to the right. She attempted to correct with left rudder, but the airplane began to “fishtail”. She then applied brakes to correct for the veering movement to no avail. Subsequently, the airplane ground-looped to the left, exited the runway to the left, and the right wing and elevator impacted the ground. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing and elevator. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

  • Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained
  • Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2021_ANC21LA082.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.