# NTSB ANC04LA034: Cessna 170A, N515N, North Pole, AK, March 5, 2004 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: March 5, 2004, 11:30 local (15:30 UTC) - Place: North Pole, AK - Coordinates: 64.759162, -147.387771 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=64.7592&lon=-147.3878&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Takeoff](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/300) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report September 1, 2004 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - Parties: FAA, Fairbanks FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 58865 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC04LA034 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/58865/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC04LA034 ## Probable cause The pilot's delayed response in initiating an aborted takeoff, which resulted in an overrun and collision with a snowbank. ## Analysis The private certificated pilot attempted to takeoff in his ski-equipped tailwheel airplane from a snow covered runway. He reported that the airplane didn't seem to accelerate as quickly as it normally did, which he attributed to the snow condition. The airplane lifted off and settled onto the runway three times before the pilot aborted the takeoff. He was unable to stop the airplane on the runway, and it ran off the end and collided with a snowbank, receiving substantial damage to the wings, fuselage, and horizontal stabilizer. The pilot wrote in his report to the NTSB that the accident could have been prevented "by aborting the takeoff in a timely manner." ## Factual narrative On March 5, 2004, about 1130 Alaska daylight time, a ski-equipped Cessna 170A airplane, N515N, received substantial damage when it collided with a snowbank during an aborted takeoff from the Bradley Sky Ranch airstrip, North Pole, Alaska. The private pilot/airplane owner and the sole passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, and no flight plan was filed. The flight was originating at the time of the accident, and the intended destination was a remote, off-airport site about 100 miles north of Fort Yukon, Alaska. During a telephone conversation with the NTSB investigator-in-charge (IIC) on March 5, at 1430, the pilot related that he was departing on runway 33, which was snow covered and 3,400 feet long. He described the snow on the airstrip as "soft and sticky." He said the airplane didn't seem to accelerate as quickly as it normally did, which he attributed to the snow condition. The airplane continued to accelerate slowly, lifted off, and then settled onto the airstrip. The pilot said the airplane did this two more times, before he reduced the engine power and aborted the takeoff. The airplane subsequently ran off the end of the runway and hit a snowbank, sustaining structural damage to the right wing, main landing gear gear box, right horizontal stabilizer, and left wing lift strut. The pilot wrote in his report to the NTSB that the accident could have been prevented "by aborting the takeoff in a timely manner." ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Overrun, takeoff - aborted - aborted takeoff - delayed, pilot in command (cause) - On ground/water encounter with terrain/water, takeoff - aborted - terrain condition - snowbank ## Aircraft - Registration: [N515N](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N515N), registered now, S/N 19987, built 1951 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 170A - Registry model: [Cessna 170A](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-170a) (registry code 2072304) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental 0-300 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-300-series) (registry code 17022, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 19987 - Airframe hours: 4910 - Engines: Continental O-300A 145 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Richard A. Hayden - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, September 14, 2003, 276 hours before - Departed: North Pole, AK - Destination: Fort Yukon, AK - Airport: 95Z, Bradley Sky Ranch, runway 33, 3,400 × 80 ft, gravel ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 62; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; seat: left; flight hours: 1,114 total, 815 in this make and model, 30 in the last 90 days, 15 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: calm - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: -9 °F ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20040305002839A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20040305002839A), Mar 5, 2004: Cessna 170A, North Pole, AK, Substantial damage. (-23) On March 5, 2004, at 1130 Alaska daylight time, Mr. Richard hayden attempted to take off in his ski equipped Cessna C-170A. Mr. Hayden stated that during… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- 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.