Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
The pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane which resulted in an inadvertent stall/mush. A factor associated with the accident was the pilot's low altitude skidding maneuver.
Aircraft Information
Registered Owner (Current)
Analysis
On August 3, 1996, about 0945 Alaska daylight time, a float equipped Sportsman 2+2 amateur built experimental airplane, N5045X, sustained substantial damage when it collided with trees shortly after takeoff from a private airstrip near Wasilla, Alaska. The solo airline transport certificated pilot was not injured. The local, 14 CFR Part 91 flight operated in visual meteorological conditions without a flight plan.
During a telephone conversation with the NTSB investigator-in-charge on August 4, the pilot said that soon after liftoff from Shaw's Tri Lakes, he saw a wheel equipped airplane taking off from the adjacent airstrip. He said that collision with the other airplane wasn't an issue, but that he elected to skid the airplane to the left to add greater separation. He said after he kicked the airplane to the left, it quit flying and stalled into the trees.
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# ANC96LA113