# Accident 19990728010069A: Cessna 172, Sheldon Point, AK, July 28, 1999 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: July 28, 1999, 18:00 local time - Place: Sheldon Point, AK - Airport: Sheldons Point Airport - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Takeoff Ground Roll - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Operator: ENHA - Location: 62.4403° N, 165.1506° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=62.4403&lon=-165.1506&mi=10 - Aircraft: N79169, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N79169) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Cessna 172K (registry code 2072430, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172k) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Lycoming 0-320 series (registry code 41508, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 172 - Reported engine: LYC O320E2D - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 2,232 total, 750 in this make and model, 300 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB ANC99LA098](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC99LA098) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990728010069A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ACFT CRASHED ON TAKE-OFF AND SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE, OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES ARE UNKNOWN. (.19) ON JULY 28, 1999, ABOUT 1800 ALASKA DAYLIGHT TIME, A WHEEL EQUIPPED CESSNA 172 AIRPLANE, N79169, SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE DURING TAKEOFF FROM THE SHELDON POINT AIRPORT, SHELDON POINT, ALASKA. THE AIRPLANE WAS BEING OPERATE BY GRANT AVIATION OF BETHEL, ALASKA, AS A VISUAL FLIGHT RULES (VFR) POSITIONING FLIGHT UNDER TITLE 14 CFR PART 91, WHEN THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED. THE SOLO AIRLINE TRANSPORT PILOT WAS NOT INJURED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED, AND VFR COMPANY FLIGHT FOLLOWING PROCEDURES WERE IN EFFECT. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT THE EMMONAK AIRPORT, EMMONAK, ALASKA, AND THE INTENDED DESTINATION WAS EMMONAK. DURING A TELEPHONE CONVERSATION WITH THE NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD (NTSB) INVESTIGATOR-IN-CHARGE ON JULY 29, THE PILOT REPORTED HE WAS ATTEMPTING TO DEPART ON RUNWAY 20. HE SAID THERE WAS A GUSTY LEFT CROSSWIND, OF ABOUT 18 KNOTS AND 90 DEGREES TO THE RUNWAY. SHORTLY AFTER BEGINNING THE TAKEOFF ROLL, HE SAID A WIND GUST LIFTED THE LEFT WING, AND PUSHED THE AIRPLANE TO THE RIGHT, AND OFF THE RUNWAY. HE SAID HE REDUCED POWER AND ATTEMPTED TO KEEP THE AIRPLANE ON THE RUNWAY, BUT THE AIRPLANE WENT OFF THE RUNWAY, DOWN AN EMBANKMENT, AND NOSED OVER. THE PILOT SAID THERE WAS NO PREACCIDENT MECHANICAL PROBLEMS WITH THE AIRPLANE. THE AIRPLANE RECEIVED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE TO THE RIGHT WING AND VERTICAL STABILIZER. (-23) PILOT ATTEMPTED TAKE-OFF FROM RUNWAY 20 AT SHELDON POINT, ALASKA. AT THE TIME OF TAKE-OFF HE ESTIMATED THE WINDS TO BE 18 KTS FROM 100 DEGREES DURING TAKE-OFF THE PILOT LOST CONTROL OF THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE RUNWAY. AIRCRAFT ROLLED DOWN THE EMBANKMENT NEXT TO RUNWAY AND AIRCRAFT WAS FLIPPED OVER ON ITS BACK BY THE WIND. THE PILOT ATTRIBUTED A GUST OF WIND ON THE TAKE-OFF ROLL TO LOSING CONTROL OF THE AIRCRAFT. HE STATED THAT HE HAD OPERATED OUT OF SHELDON POINT ONLY 20 MINUTED EARLIER WITH NO DIFFICULTY, UNDER SIMILAR CONDITIONS. IN REVIEWING PILOT TRAINING RECORDS IT WAS REVEALED THAT THE PILOT HAD RECEIVED HIS COMPETENCY CHECK UNDER DFAR 135.293 IN A CESSNA 207 AND ONLY AN ORAL EXAM IN THE CESSNA 172, AS ALLOWED BY THE REGULATIONS AND GRANT AVIATIONS APPROVED TRAINING MANUAL. PILOT WAS ON RETURN LEG WITH NO REVENUE, UNDER CFAR PART 91. (.4) THE SOLO AIRLINE TRANSPORT PILOT REPORTED HE WAS ATTEMPTING TO TAKEOFF IN A GUSTY, 90 DEGREE LEFT CROSSWIND. HE ESTIMATED THE WIND VELOCITY AS 18 KNOTS, GUSTING TO 23 KNOTS. DURING THE TAKEOFF ROLL, HE SAID A GUST OF WIND LIFTED THE LEFT WING, AND FORCED THE AIRPLANE TO THE RIGHT, OFF THE RUNWAY, AND DOWN AN EMBANKMENT, WHERE IT NOSED OVER. THE PILOT SAID THERE WERE NO PREACCIDENT MECHANICAL PROBLEMS WITH THE AIRPLANE. ## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB ANC99LA098](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC99LA098), Jul 29, 1999: Cessna 172 (N79169), Sheldon Point, AK, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's inadequate compensation for the gusty crosswind conditions during takeoff. Factors associated with the accident were a crosswind, and wind gusts. From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.