Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during takeoff. A factor associated with the accident was the rough and uneven terrain.
Aircraft Information
Registered Owner (Current)
Analysis
On August 16, 1996, about 1200 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Piper PA-18 airplane, N6760B, sustained substantial damage when it collided with trees during an attempted takeoff from a remote gravel bar located in the Nabesna River drainage near Slana, Alaska. The solo private pilot was not injured. The personal, 14 CFR Part 91 flight operated in visual meteorological conditions.
During a telephone conversation with the NTSB investigator-in-charge on August 19, the pilot stated that there was a small hump, or gravel swell, in the takeoff area. He said when the airplane encountered the hump, the airplane was forced to the left, and he was unable to maintain directional control. Shortly after passing over the hump, the airplane became airborne. The left wing then collided with a tree and brush, and the airplane subsequently went off the left side of the takeoff area, coming to rest in a stand of trees and brush.
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# ANC96LA129