NTSB Factual Report

On October 25, 2002, about 1530 Alaska daylight time, a wheel-equipped Cessna 180 airplane, N5244D, sustained substantial damage when it collided with taxiway lighting and a ditch while taxiing to parking at the Lake Hood Strip, Anchorage, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) local personal flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. The solo private pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed.

During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) on October 28, the FAA aviation safety inspector who responded to the accident site said the pilot told her he had just landed and was exiting the runway. He said he missed the taxiway turnout, and ran the airplane into a ditch. He said the sun was in his eyes, and he thought he was turning onto the taxiway. The inspector said the sides and belly of the airplane's fuselage were damaged when the airplane exited the runway and collided with runway/taxiway lights. She said the airplane also encountered a ditch, and the propeller struck the ground.

In a written statement to the NTSB, the pilot said he was taxiing to parking when the accident occurred. He said the sun was in his eyes when he turned from the taxiway into the parking area, and the airplane struck a taxiway light and then encountered a ditch.

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot's failure to maintain proper alignment on the taxiway and clearance from the taxiway edge lights while taxiing from landing. A factor contributing to the accident was sun glare.