N759MZ

On July 6, 1999, approximately 0630 mountain daylight time, N759MZ, a Cessna 182Q, sustained substantial damage during an attempted takeoff at Trapper Creek airstrip, Conner, Montana. The private pilot on board was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The pilot stated that the ELT actuated. No flight plan was filed for the flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. There was no fire.

The pilot stated that he taxied through what appeared to be a thin layer of standing water on the grass strip. He noted that the water was from a leaky irrigation ditch. In his written report, he stated that he set up for a soft-field takeoff, using full power on the takeoff roll on 200-300 feet of dry ground before reaching the water on the airstrip's surface. Water "laying at an angle" caught the left main gear and turned the airplane to the left, "sending it into a hydroplane." He aborted the takeoff, pulling the power back. The airplane struck a fence with the wing, causing it to swing around and come to a rest nose down in a ditch.