ANC00LA101

The private pilot stated he had been waiting for two days for the weather to improve so he could depart. He said the right crosswind was steady at 18 knots, and there were infrequent gusts to 40 knots. He indicated the airplane can be controlled in 20 knot direct crosswinds, and he normally does not fly at wind speeds above that. He said that during the takeoff roll from the 600 feet long by 25 feet wide ridgetop landing area, a gust struck the airplane and pushed it off the left side of the ridge. The airplane dropped off the ridgeline and nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the tail.

On August 11, 2000, about 2000 Alaska daylight time, a tundra tire equipped Haskins Challenger-2 experimental airplane, N61881, sustained substantial damage when it nosed over during takeoff from a ridge, about 60 miles northwest of Central, Alaska, about 65.50 degrees north latitude, and 148.30 degrees west longitude. The solo private pilot received minor injuries. The personal flight was being conducted under 14 CFR Part 91, as the return leg of a hunting trip. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed.

During a telephone interview with the NTSB investigator-in-charge on August 16, and in his NTSB Pilot/Operator report, the pilot stated he had been waiting for two days for the weather to improve so he could depart. He estimated the winds to be from the west (a right crosswind), steady at 18 knots, and there were infrequent gusts to 40 knots. He indicated the airplane can be controlled in 20-knot direct crosswinds, and he normally does not fly at wind speeds above that. He said that during the takeoff roll from the 600 feet long by 25 feet wide ridge top landing area, a gust from the right struck the airplane and pushed it off the left side of the ridge. The airplane dropped off the ridgeline and nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the tail.