N46326

On July 15, 2001, about 1605 Alaska daylight time, a wheel-equipped Cessna 152 airplane, N46326, sustained substantial damage during an attempted takeoff from the Haines Highway, near Haines, Alaska. The private pilot/owner of the airplane and the one passenger were not injured. The 14 CFR Part 91 local pleasure flight departed Juneau, Alaska, about 1400, and operated in visual meteorological conditions. The flight was returning to Juneau at the time of the accident.

During a telephone conversation with the pilot on July 16, he related he had landed on a portion of the Haines Highway that was under construction. He said he is familiar with that portion of the highway because the company he works for is currently doing road restoration there. He reported that during takeoff, he inadvertently allowed the left main landing gear tire to contact a rut alongside the road. He said he overcorrected to the right, and the airplane went off the right side of the road, where the right horizontal stabilizer received substantial damage when it struck a stump. The pilot said there were no preimpact mechanical problems with the airplane.