ANC03LA120

NTSB accident investigation · Cessna 150 · Tanana, AK · September 6, 2003

Accident · No injuriesLimited investigationFinal report
Date
September 6, 2003, 14:00 local (22:00 UTC)
Place
Tanana, AK
Injuries
1 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Takeoff
Aircraft
N6767FCessna 150
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed · report March 30, 2004
Report
Approved by Office Director
NTSB office
Alaska Regional Office
Parties
FAA, Fairbanks Flight Standards District Office
FAA report
20030906037719A
Case key
57975

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

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Probable cause

The pilot's failure to abort the takeoff after encountering muddy terrain during the takeoff roll, which resulted in a runway overrun and collision with trees. A factor in the accident was the muddy runway.

Sequence of events

NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.

On ground/water encounter with terrain/waterTakeoff - roll/run
Airport facilities,runway/landing area condition - muddyFactor
OverrunTakeoff - roll/run
Aborted takeoff - not performedPilot in commandCause
On ground/water collision with objectTakeoff - roll/run
Object - tree(s)

Analysis

The commercial certificated pilot reported he was attempting to takeoff in his airplane from his private grass/turf airstrip. During the takeoff roll, he said the airplane encountered a muddy section of runway and slowed down. He elected to continue the takeoff roll. The airplane became airborne for a short period, settled onto the end of the runway, and then ran off the end of the runway and collided with trees. The airplane received structural damage to the wings and fuselage. The pilot indicated that there were no preaccident mechanical problems with the airplane.

Factual narrative

On September 6, 2003, about 1400 Alaska daylight time, a wheel-equipped Cessna 150 airplane, N6767F, received substantial damage when it overran the runway and collided with trees during takeoff from a remote mining airstrip, about 50 miles south of Tanana, Alaska. The solo commercial pilot was not injured. The Title 14, CFR Part 91 personal flight operated in visual meteorological conditions without a flight plan. The flight was originating at the time of the accident, and was en route to Fairbanks, Alaska.

During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge on September 22, the pilot related that he was taking off to the west from his private grass/turf airstrip. He said the airstrip is approximately 1,400 feet long, and 100 feet wide. While the airplane was accelerating during the takeoff roll, the pilot said the main landing gear wheels encountered a muddy section of the runway, which slowed the airplane. He said the airplane became airborne near the end of the runway, but then settled onto the runway, and ran off the end and into trees. The airplane sustained structural damage to the wings and fuselage. The pilot said that there were no preimpact mechanical problems with the airplane.

Aircraft

Registration
N6767F
Reported as
Cessna 150
Category
Airplane
Serial number
15063367
Airframe hours
2,010
Engine
Continental O-200A, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Personal · Part 91
Registered owner
Charles B. Woodruff
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Last inspection
Annual · May 16, 1999 · 41 hours before
Departed
Tanana, AK
Destination
FAI · Fairbanks, AK
Airport
runway 27, 1,400 × 100 ft, grass/turf

Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
Calm
Visibility
100 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
None
Temperature
39 °F

FAA reports on this event · 1

The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.

Other investigations on N6767F · 1

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.