N2821P

On October 2, 1996, about 1830 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Piper PA-22 airplane, N2821P, sustained substantial damage when it collided with terrain during takeoff from an off airport site near Hanning Bay, Montague Island, which is located approximately 22 miles southeast of Port Ashton, Alaska. The commercial certificated pilot and the one passenger aboard were not injured. The 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 October 6, 1996, the pilot related that he and a hunting companion were attempting to takeoff to the west from an off airport site to return to Anchorage. The pilot described the takeoff area as a "bush strip...rocky gravel with tundra over...narrow with alders and spruce on both sides and at end." The takeoff area was approximately 1400 feet long and 25 feet wide. He said that shortly after liftoff, he lost control of the airplane and crashed. The pilot said the prevailing wind was a right-quartering headwind, which he estimated as 10 to 15 knots, with higher gusts. He reported that he is unsure if the wind suddenly quit, or if he encountered a wind gust, but said he apparently got away from the runway's center, and collided with adjoining brush.