Silvaire LUSCOMBE 8F accident near Tok, Alaska, May 30, 2012
On May 30, 2012 at about 7:30 pm local time, a Silvaire LUSCOMBE 8F, registered N9906C, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (flare/touchdown) near Tok, Alaska (Tok Junction airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadvertent and excessive application of brake pressure during landing, which resulted in a nose over.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 30, 2012 · about 7:30 pm local time · cases in 2012
- Place
- Tok, Alaska · Tok Junction · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Silvaire LUSCOMBE 8F · all LUSCOMBE 8Fs on the register
- Registration
- N9906C · registry record · serial S-9
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported that during landing, he inadvertently applied excessive pressure to the brakes, and the airplane nosed over, resulting in substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer and rudder. He reported that the airplane had recently been modified with hydraulic brakes, but there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Nose over/nose down during landing (flare/touchdown) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Use of equip/system › Pilot
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Brake › Unintentional use/operation other cases naming the landing gear
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 7,000 hours in all; 1 in this make and model; 20 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days; 6,000 as pilot in command; 100 on instruments
- Last flight review: October 26, 2011
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,660 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 14, 2012; 4 hours since
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Cont Motor C90 SERIES (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PAGK Glennallen AK at 1:30 pm
- Destination: PFTO Tok AK
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 07, 2,509 ft by 50 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 15,000 ft; a few clouds at 6,000 ft
- Temperature: 57°F (14°C), dew point 27°F (-3°C)
- Altimeter: 29.47 inHg
- Observation at 2:53 pm from PAOR, 35 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
1 document, released by the NTSB on July 27, 2012. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 9 pages | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N9906C on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Silvaire LUSCOMBE 8 184 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Silvaire 200 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Cont Motor C90 SERIES 2,149 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Tok Junction Airport · nearest airport
- Gulkana Airport · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in Alaska 5,932 since 1982 · 826 in the last ten years
- Alaska 9,142 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/ANC12CA044.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.