N710MH

On September 10, 2003, about 1800 Alaska daylight time, a wheel-equipped Cessna 206 airplane, N710MH, operated by Circle Air, Central, Alaska, as a Title 14, CFR Part 135 on-demand charter flight, sustained substantial damage when it collided with an area of rough, uneven terrain and nosed over during an attempted takeoff from a remote off-airport site located about 100 miles northeast of Chalkyitsik, Alaska. The flight operated in day visual meteorological conditions, and company flight following procedures were in effect. Of the three people aboard, the commercial certificated pilot and one passenger received no injuries; the other passenger sustained a minor injury. The flight originated at the off-airport site, and was en route to the Circle Hot Springs Airport, Circle, Alaska.

In a written statement, the owner of the company reported that the pilot was departing from a 1,500 foot-long gravel-covered site, which required a correction for a strong right crosswind. She reported that just after takeoff, the airplane drifted to the left, and the main landing gear wheels struck a stand of brush, and the airplane began to descend onto an area of rough and uneven terrain. She said that as the pilot was attempting to gain altitude, the airplane stalled, and the nose wheel struck a large ditch at the departure end of the site. The airplane subsequently nosed over, and sustained structural damage to the wings, fuselage, and empennage.

According to the company owner, there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane.