Piper PA 18-150 N4000Z accident near Nenana, Alaska

Probable cause

The pilot's excessive braking following his overshoot of the intended touchdown point on a short airstrip, which resulted in nose-over of the airplane. A contributing factor was the pilot's mental distraction during the landing.

NTSB analysis

The pilot stated that he circled the short, remote strip to determine the best wind for landing and, upon finding only light and variable winds, he decided to land to the east. He said that he missed his intended landing point by about 30 feet then cut the engine power and didn't retract the flaps. He said that the airplane's tail came up, and he relaxed the brakes, then the tail started to settle. He said that he then reapplied brakes, and the airplane nosed over. He estimated that he had about 100 feet of landing strip remaining ahead of the airplane at the spot where it nosed over. He noted that, during all of his previous landings at the remote strip, he had heavy baggage in the rear seat and cargo area of the airplane. He also noted that he was distracted with other things on his mind during the landing. The pilot reported no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The airplane sustained substantial damage to rudder and vertical stabilizer and damage to wing ribs.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ANC14CA045 for the full record.