Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
THE PILOT DELAYED HIS DECISION TO ABORT THE TAKEOFF, AND DID NOT FOLLOW THE STANDARD PROCEDURES/DIRECTIVES FOR THE ABORTED TAKEOFF. FACTORS WERE THE PILOT'S IMPROPER PREFLIGHT PLANNING/DECISION, AND THE ROUGH/UNEVEN TERRAIN.
Aircraft Information
Registered Owner (Historical)
Analysis
HISTORY OF FLIGHT
On September 19, 1993, at 1630 Alaska daylight time, a float equipped Cessna 180 airplane, N9600B, over ran the lake and collided with the terrain during an attempted takeoff at Charlie Lake, located 15 miles east of Farewell, Alaska. The private pilot and one passenger were not injured, and the airplane was substantially damaged. The personal flight was operating under 14 CFR Part 91 at the time. Visual meteorological conditions existed, and no flight plan was filed.
Shortly after the accident, during a telephone conversation, the pilot stated the following in part: "During the takeoff run I had one float off the water, and a gust of wind caused it to settle back down on the water. I didn't think I would get airborne before reaching the end of the lake, so decided to abort the takeoff. Then I mistakenly pulled back the propeller control knob instead of the throttle control knob. The airplane hit the edge of the lake and went up onto the tundra. The float struts and the left wing strut were damaged and had to be replaced."
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# ANC93LA187