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CHI93LA084

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

Airport BBB

Current FAA registration · N3854M

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

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 ↗.

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