Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
The pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the aircraft. Contributing factors were the crosswind condition, the pilot's lack of total experience in make/model of the aircraft, and the pilot not achieving a climb on takeoff.
Aircraft Information
Registered Owner (Current)
Analysis
On September 27, 1998, about 1700 Alaska daylight time, a Cessna 170B airplane, N3482C, sustained substantial damage when it collided with terrain during takeoff from an off airport landing site about 20 miles north of Igiugig, Alaska. The private pilot and sole passenger were not injured. The airplane was owned and operated by the pilot under 14 CFR Part 91 as a personal flight to hunt caribou. The flight was departing the landing site, returning to King Salmon, Alaska. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed.
The pilot told the NTSB investigator-in-charge during a telephone interview on September 28, and wrote in his NTSB Pilot / Operator report, that the winds were a variable left crosswind, and he tried to time his takeoff to use a headwind. The pilot estimated the length of the takeoff area to be about 1,000 feet. He said the airplane left the ground about 2/3 of the way down the takeoff area and was too slow to climb. He indicated the left wing came up, the right landing gear contacted the tundra, and the airplane settled to the ground.
The pilot had recently purchased the airplane, and had accumulated about 15 hours of experience in the make and model.
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# ANC98LA163