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ANC92LA015

1991-11-08 · ANCHORAGE, Alaska, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport AK12

Current FAA registration · N4285H

Make / Model
PIPER PA-14
Year of manufacture
1948 · 43 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING O-320 SERIES (150 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
20251208
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A51C66

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE PILOT'S LOSS OF CONTROL DURING FINAL APPROACH WHEN HIS ATTENTION WAS DIVERTED TO TRYING TO OPERATE THE VERNIER THROTTLE. CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WAS THE PILOT'S LACK OF FAMILIARITY WITH THE AIRCRAFT AND HIS FAILURE TO MAINTAIN DIRECTIONAL CONTROL OF THE AIRPLANE ON THE GROUND.

Factual narrative

THE PRIVATE PILOT STATED THAT, JUST BEFORE TOUCHDOWN, HE MADE AN UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT TO MANIPULATE THE VERNIER TYPE THROTTLE IN ORDER TO SLOW HIS HIGH DESCENT RATE. THE AIRPLANE SUBSEQUENTLY LANDED HARD, BOUNCED BACK INTO THE AIR, STALLED, AND COLLIDED WITH TWO PARKED AIRPLANES. THE PILOT HAD JUST BOUGHT THE AIRPLANE AND HAD ONLY ABOUT 2 HOURS IN THIS TYPE AIRPLANE. HE SAID HE WAS NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE VERNIER TYPE THROTTLE WHICH HAD BEEN ILLEGALLY INSTALLED IN THE AIRPLANE SOMETIME BEFORE HE BOUGHT IT. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1991_ANC92LA015.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

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