Federal officials investigate unlicensed Alaska pilot
The Associated Press
Published Friday, May 1, 2009
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - An unlicensed pilot "water-skied" the surface of Knik River drainage with his father's airplane, ended up nose-down on a sandbar, and then flew the damaged craft home, according to federal investigators.
Aviation officials say the incident could result in fines.
The Piper PA-18-135, piloted by Edwin A. Stoltenberg, 26, was seen repeatedly swooping down to the water and skimming the surface with its wheels, trying to "water ski" across it, according to a National Transportation Safety Board report released Thursday.
The aircraft's tires grazed the water smoothly for several hundred feet on a handful of touch-and-goes but then caught on a sandbar, sending the plane's nose into shallow water at about 4:30 p.m. Saturday, the report said.
The airplane sustained damage to its left wing lift strut, fuselage and rudder.
"There was obviously no injuries or anything, so it was a pretty minor accident," said NTSB investigator Clint Johnson. "But once we got into it, it was just like, 'Holy smokes!'"
"Water-skiing" with an airplane is not encouraged, said Howard Martin, regional counsel for the Federal Aviation Administration. It was developed for landing in tight quarters, such as sand bars, he said, but doing it wrong can be disastrous.
"This isn't a real normal procedure for landing," Martin said. "There's a few people that's developed this, and he may have well been trying to show the skill off to people out there when it happened."
When Stoltenberg's plane went down, a witness came over to see if he was OK. Stoltenberg told the witness, "Don't call the cops," according to the report.
Friends of Stoltenberg showed up and turned the aircraft right-side-up with an all-terrain vehicle, then towed it to trees and brush to hide it, the report said.
No one was around when Alaska State Troopers arrived.
However Stoltenberg later returned and flew the battered plane home from the crash site about six miles south of Palmer, the report said.
"That's another interesting little twist," Johnson said. "He basically flew a bent airplane home."
Stoltenberg told the NTSB that the accident took place after he had successfully landed on the mud flats. He said he was a student pilot with a required medical certificate, and that as he was turning the aircraft to taxi, a gust of wind lifted its tail and caused it to nose over, according to the report.
However, Stoltenberg has neither a current medical certificate nor a student pilot's certificate, the report said. The FAA administratively denied Stoltenberg's third-class medical certificate on Aug. 1 because of three driving-under-the-influence convictions in 10 years, the report said. On Aug. 30. he was charged with a fourth, felony DUI.
There was no indication that alcohol was a factor in the plane episode, officials said.
The FAA is investigating a number of regulatory violations, including the lack of a pilot's certificate, Martin said.
"Normally we would either revoke or suspend that," he said. "But when someone doesn't have certificates, we've got a couple options. One is we do a fine action against him."
Officials also could get an injunction to keep Stoltenberg from flying, he said.
