| Crash location | 61.416111°N, 149.506667°W |
| Nearest city | Chugiak, AK
61.388889°N, 149.481944°W 2.1 miles away |
| Tail number | N82563 |
|---|---|
| Accident date | 29 Apr 2017 |
| Aircraft type | Piper Pa 18-150 |
| Additional details: | None |
On April 29, 2017, about 1600 Alaska daylight time, a Piper PA-18 airplane, N82563, sustained substantial damage when the right main landing gear collapsed after landing at the Birchwood Airport, Chugiak, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) cross-country personal flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. The private pilot and the one passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight departed about 1410 from a remote beach site, about 36 miles northwest of Ninilchik, Alaska.
During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) on May 3, the pilot reported that after an uneventful touchdown on 20L, a gravel-covered runway, the right main landing gear collapsed, which pivoted the airplane to the right, and the left wing struck the ground. The pilot reported that there were no known problems with the landing gear prior to the accident.
A postaccident inspection of the airplane's right main landing gear system revealed a fractured and separated hydrasorb shock unit. The fractured shock unit was retained by the NTSB IIC, and it was subsequently sent to the NTSB's Materials Laboratory in Washington, DC for a detailed examination.