N61272

On August 22, 1994, at 1316 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Cessna 150J airplane, N61272, registered to David Drews of Palmer, Alaska, and operated by Daniel Kurtz, the pilot, also of Palmer, struck a soft spot on the runway during takeoff and nosed down on a gravel airstrip located below the Kahiltna Glacier, near Talkeetna, Alaska. The personal flight, operating under 14 CFR Part 91, was departing the gravel strip and the destination was Palmer. No flight plan was filed and visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The pilot and his passenger were not injured and the airplane was substantially damaged.

According to a passenger, who was waiting to be flown out next, the airplane started the take off and the nose wheel hit a soft, sandy spot. The pilot aborted the take off, the nose gear collapsed, and the airplane nosed down.

According to the pilot's statement, the take off was aborted when he lost lift approximately 450 feet down the 950 foot long runway. During the aborted take off roll the nose wheel hit a soft spot and collapsed.

The airplane was equipped with an O-320-E2A engine capable of producing 150 horsepower. The airplane records showed a Supplemental Type Certificate, however, there were no new performance figures or charts to show if there was any change in performance.

According to the airplane owner's manual, at a gross weight condition, the interpolated take off distance for the conditions described by the pilot was 820 feet at a minimum.