N2217T

On June 18, 2006, about 1515 Alaska daylight time, a tundra tire, tailwheel-equipped Cessna 185 airplane, N2217T, sustained substantial damage when it collided with the ground during takeoff-initial climb from a remote beach, about 18 miles south-southeast of Dillingham, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) cross-country personal flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. The airplane was operated by the pilot. The commercial certificated pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight was en route to Dillingham, and no flight plan was filed.

During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), on June 29, the pilot reported that he was departing from a beach near Ekuk Spit, which is an area he utilizes for set-net fishing from the beach. The pilot said he began his takeoff run toward the west, between a creek and set-net ropes lying on the beach surface, a distance of about 550 feet. The airplane lifted off the ground and climbed to about 10 feet, when the pilot said he felt a tug on the tail of the airplane, and he realized that the tailwheel had snagged one of the ropes. The airplane pitched nose down about 45 degrees, collided with the ground, and nosed over. The airplane received structural damage to the wings and vertical stabilizer. After the accident, the pilot said he found that when the tailwheel snagged the first rope, it pulled an adjacent rope upward, which snagged the main landing gear.