N7777D

On August 8, 2000, about 1800 Alaska daylight time, a tundra tire equipped Piper PA-18 airplane, N7777D, sustained substantial damage during takeoff from a remote airstrip, about 37 miles southwest of Delta Junction, Alaska, about latitude 63 degrees, 57 minutes north, and longitude 147 degrees, 05 minutes west. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) cross-country personal flight to Delta Junction, when the accident occurred. The airplane was operated by the pilot. The commercial certificated pilot, and the sole passenger, were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed.

During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), on August 9, 2000, the pilot reported that he was departing a small airstrip at a mining claim. The airstrip is oriented east/west, and is about 600 feet long and 20 feet wide, with a 6 to 10 degree slope. The pilot said the wind was blowing downhill, so he decided to take off toward the west, in an uphill direction. The wind was blowing from the west between 10 to 15 knots. The airplane lifted off, but at the end of the airstrip, the tires were only about 2 to 3 feet above the ground. The tires began skimming the tops of low bushes that surrounded the airstrip. The pilot said that the wind speed decreased, and the airplane contacted the ground and nosed over. The airplane received damage to the engine propeller, wings, and empennage.