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Atlas / NTSB / CHI93LA084

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event CHI93LA084

1993-02-02 WHITE BEAR LAKE, Minnesota, United States Airport · BBB None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N3854M

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

PIPER PA-12

Year of manufacture

1947 · 46 years old at event

Engine

LYCOMING 0-290 SERIES (140 hp)

Seats / Engines

3 seats · 1 engine

Last airworthiness date

19640108

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S A470CD

Registrant of record

MISCHEL SCOTT

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE PILOT SELECTED UNSUITABLE TERRAIN FOR LANDING. THE SNOW COVERED RUNWAY WAS A FACTOR.

Factual narrative

THE PILOT STATED WHEN HE LANDED ON THE SNOW-COVERED AIRSTRIP, IT APPEARED THE SNOW WAS 'HARD PACKED.' HE REPORTED AS THE AIRPLANE DECELERATED, IT BEGAN TO SINK INTO THE SNOW, THEN NOSED OVER. HE STATED: 'IN THE THIRTY EIGHT YEARS OF FLYING THIS IS MY FIRST ACCIDENT. SOMETIMES WE MAKE BAD DECISIONS AND THIS WAS ONE OF THOSE TIMES.' FAA PERSONNEL REPORTED 8 INCHES OF SNOW ON THE RUNWAY. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1993_CHI93LA084.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.