N7055

On August 5, 2008, about 1600 Alaska daylight time, a tundra tire-equipped Piper PA-18 airplane, N7055, sustained substantial damage when it collided with a ditch during the takeoff roll from a road, about 38 miles north of Nome, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) local area public use flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. The airplane was operated by the State of Alaska, Department of Public Safety, Anchorage, Alaska. The private certificated pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed.

During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), on August 6, the pilot reported that he landed on the Kougarok Road to perform wildlife enforcement duties, and was departing for a return flight to Nome. The road has a gravel/dirt surface, with ditches along each edge. The pilot indicated that during the takeoff roll, he glanced down to locate the flap handle, during which the airplane drifted off the left side of the road. The left main landing gear tire encountered soft terrain in the ditch, and the airplane nosed over.