N49EB

On May 19, 2000, about 1200 Alaska daylight time, a tundra tire equipped Piper PA-12 airplane, N49EB, sustained substantial damage during takeoff from the Anderson Lake Airstrip, a private airstrip about 4 miles north-northeast of Wasilla, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) personal flight, when the accident occurred. The airplane was operated by the pilot. The pilot, holder of a student pilot certificate, and one passenger, received minor injuries. The second passenger was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed.

The president of the home owners association, where the airstrip is located, notified the Alaska State Trooper's office of the accident. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) on May 19, the association's president stated that he did not see the accident. However, he was told by the pilot that during takeoff toward the east (runway 08), the accident airplane encountered a wind shear at tree top level, and crashed on the runway.

An Alaska State Trooper responded to the accident scene. After verifying that there were no serious injuries, he obtained the names of the occupants of the airplane. During a telephone conversation with the NTSB IIC, the trooper reported that the pilot said he was planning to fly to Cordova, Alaska, to go hunting. The trooper said the pilot told him that the airplane's annual inspection was expired. When the trooper asked about his flight experience, the pilot reported he had accrued about 300 hours.

A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, Anchorage Flight Standards District Office (FSDO), responded to the accident scene. When he arrived, the pilot, with others assisting, were disassembling the airplane. The inspector reported that the damage to the airplane consisted of wrinkling of both sides of the fuselage. In addition, the airplane had damage to the right wing lift strut, the main landing gear was folded upward under the airplane, and the propeller was bent. The inspector said that the pilot refused to talk with him about the accident.

The NTSB IIC received a telephone call from the pilot on May 19. When asked about the details of the accident, the pilot refused to provide his name or any additional information.

The NTSB Northwest Field Office sent a Pilot/Operator report (NTSB form 6120.1/2) to the pilot's address of record in Cordova. The form was returned unsigned, and noted the date of the accident was April 19, 2000. It contained an indication that the pilot held a private pilot certificate, and that he had accrued 81.3 hours. A review of FAA airmen records maintained at the FAA's Airmen Certification Branch, Oklahoma City, revealed the pilot was issued a private pilot certificate on May 25, 2000, six days after the accident.

A FAA airworthiness inspector located the airplane wreckage and maintenance records in Eagle River, Alaska, on July 17, 2000. The maintenance records indicated the last annual inspection on the airframe and engine was April 3, 1997.

The closest official weather observation station is Wasilla, Alaska, which is located 4 nautical miles southwest of the accident site. On May 19, 2000, at 1155, an automated weather observation system (AWOS) was reporting in part: Wind, 240 degrees (true) at 4 knots; visibility, 10 statute miles; clouds and sky condition, 2,900 feet broken, 4,200 feet overcast; temperature, 46 degrees F; dew point, 34 degrees F; altimeter, 29.79 inHg.