# NTSB ANC04LA112: Cessna 170, N3492C, Teller, AK, September 8, 2004 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: September 7, 2004, 17:00 local (Sep 8, 2004, 01:00 UTC) - Place: Teller, AK - Coordinates: 65.440002, -165.718338 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=65.4400&lon=-165.7183&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Initial climb](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/350) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report June 8, 2005 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - Parties: FAA-AL-FAI FSDO 01 - NTSB case key (mKey): 60189 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC04LA112 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/60189/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC04LA112 ## Probable cause The pilot's selection of unsuitable terrain for takeoff, and his inadequate evaluation of the wind conditions, which resulted in a collision with an embankment during takeoff-initial climb. Factors contributing to the accident was the presence of a sand embankment, and a tailwind. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - In flight collision with terrain/water, takeoff - initial climb - unsuitable terrain or takeoff/landing/taxi area - selected, pilot in command (cause) - terrain condition - dirt bank/rising embankment (contributing factor) - weather condition - tailwind (contributing factor) - weather evaluation - inadequate, pilot in command (cause) ## Analysis The airline transport certificated pilot was departing toward the north from a gravel area along a remote creek. The takeoff area was oriented north/south, and was about 800 feet long, and about 100 feet wide. The pilot indicated the wind was variable, about 7 knots. About 25 feet after liftoff, the right main landing gear tire struck about a 2 foot high embankment. The airplane settled onto the gravel bar and came to a stop. The pilot said that an observer on the ground reported to him that the wind appeared to switch to a tailwind during the takeoff run. The airplane was retrieved from the scene by helicopter. The pilot of the helicopter reported that when he arrived at the scene, he observed the right main landing gear strut and tire lying in a small creek, separated from the fuselage, between what appeared to be the takeoff point, and the airplane's point of rest. ## Factual narrative On September 7, 2004, about 1700 Alaska daylight time, a tundra tire-equipped Cessna 170 airplane, N3492C, sustained substantial damage when it collided with a sand/gravel bar during takeoff initial climb from a remote creek area, about 19 miles northeast of Teller, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) local area personal flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. The airplane was operated by the pilot. The airline transport certificated pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. No flight plan was filed, nor was one required. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), on September 20, the pilot reported that he was departing from a gravel area that was oriented north/south, and was about 800 feet long, and about 100 feet wide. The pilot indicated that he departed toward the north, and the wind was variable, about 7 knots. He said about 25 feet from liftoff, the right main landing gear tire struck about a 2 foot high embankment. The airplane settled onto the gravel bar and came to a stop. The pilot said that an observer on the ground reported to him that the wind appeared to switch to a tailwind during the takeoff run. The pilot reported that the airplane was resting on the right wingtip, and the right main landing gear was bent up and aft about 6 inches. The pilot was picked up from the accident site by an Alaska State Trooper aircraft. Aerial photographs of the accident scene provided by the State Troopers revealed the airplane was in a small creek, with the airplane resting on the right wingtip. The right main landing gear was not visible. A scuff, or soil disruption, was visible along the surface of the gravel area, adjacent to the airplane. The airplane was retrieved from the scene by helicopter. In a telephone conversation with the NTSB IIC on September 23, the pilot of the helicopter reported that when he arrived at the scene, he observed the right main landing gear strut and tire lying in a small creek, separated from the fuselage, between what appeared to be the takeoff point, and the airplane's point of rest. The airplane was lifted by helicopter from the scene to the Teller Airport. It was disassembled and packaged for shipment to Anchorage, Alaska, via Nome, Alaska. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) aviation safety inspector, Fairbanks Flight Standards District Office (FSDO), examined and photographed the airplane as it was sitting on shipping pallets in Nome, prior to it being sent to Anchorage. The photographs revealed damage to the right wingtip, the right main landing gear attach point, and the fuselage. The propeller tips had slight curling. The airplane was examined by the NTSB IIC on September 22 in Anchorage. The examination revealed that about 12 inches of the outboard end of the right wing aileron was missing from the inboard end of the aileron. The point of separation displayed tearing and upward curling. The outboard end of the right wing was missing its plastic wingtip. The outboard rib and trailing edge of the wing structure was crushed and bent, with tearing of the wing structure evident along the bottom of the wing. The left wing lift strut fuselage attach point was intact and undamaged. The left main landing gear attach point within the fuselage structure was undamaged. The right wing lift strut fuselage attach point was bent aft and fractured. The entire right main landing gear attach point, normally located within the fuselage structure, was missing. The attaching structure for the right gear strut was torn and fractured. The underside of the fuselage area, just aft of the right cabin door post, had upward crushing and bending, with vertical separation of the first rivet line aft of the door post. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N3492C](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N3492C), registered now, S/N 26535, built 1954 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 170 - Registry model: [Cessna 170B](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-170b) (registry code 2072306) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental 0-300 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-300-series) (registry code 17022, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 26535 - Airframe hours: 3300 - Engines: Lycoming O-360-A1A 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Thomas G. Piscoya - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, May 31, 2004, 150 hours before - Departed: Teller, AK ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 41; injuries: none; commercial, airline transport; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; last flight review August 15, 2004; seat: left; flight hours: 15,000 total, 1,700 in this make and model, 12,000 as pilot in command ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: variable at 7 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Temperature: 50 °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 20040907024839A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20040907024839A), Sep 7, 2004: Cessna 170B, Nome, AK, Substantial damage. (-23) [privacy data omitted] after taking off from the gravel bar the aircraft failed to clear an embankment at the end of the gravel bar. The aircraft's… ## Other investigations on N3492C (2) 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 ANC10LA026](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC10LA026), Mar 17, 2010: Cessna 170B (N3492C), Anchorage, AK, substantial damage. Probable cause: The structural failure of the right main landing gear leg, resulting in the collapse of the landing gear. - [NTSB UNK64X0758](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/UNK64X0758), Feb 29, 1964: Cessna 170 (N3492C), St Joseph, MO, substantial damage 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. --- 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.