- Date
- August 23, 2014, 14:30 local (22:30 UTC)
- Place
- Talkeetna, AK
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N7119MCessna 175
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Loss of control in flight
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 11, 2015
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- Parties
- FAA / AVP-100
- FAA report
- 20140823014779A
- Case key
- 89946
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's selection of an unsuitable takeoff area, resulting in a loss of control and subsequent inflight collision with terrain during takeoff. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's failure to use the checklist, resulting in an improper propeller pitch setting for takeoff, and the pilot's inadvertent partial application of the wheel brakes during the takeoff roll.
Findings · 5
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot was departing, uphill, from a rough and uneven, tundra-covered off-airport site, which required a correction for a variable 10 knot left crosswind. The site was situated atop a mountain ridgeline. The pilot reported that during the takeoff roll the airplane hit a series of bumps and ruts, and it became airborne prematurely. He added that as the airplane continued to bounce, he braced himself against the rudder pedals, and he inadvertently depressed the brakes. When the airplane settled to the ground and the wheels touched down, the airplane slowed. In an effort to avoid rising terrain ahead, and in an attempt to gain airspeed, the pilot turned the airplane to the left and downslope. The airplane continued to descend and it subsequently collided with brush-covered terrain, sustaining substantial damage to the wings, fuselage, and empennage. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunction or failure with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot also noted that he failed to use the predeparture checklist, and a postaccident inspection revealed that the propeller pitch control was found to be in a cruise power setting.
Factual narrative
The pilot was departing, uphill, from a rough and uneven, tundra-covered off-airport site, which required a correction for a variable 10 knot left crosswind. The site was situated atop a mountain ridgeline. The pilot reported that during the takeoff roll the airplane hit a series of bumps and ruts, and it became airborne prematurely. He added that as the airplane continued to bounce, he braced himself against the rudder pedals, and he inadvertently depressed the brakes. When the airplane settled to the ground and the wheels touched down, the airplane slowed. In an effort to avoid rising terrain ahead, and in an attempt to gain airspeed, the pilot turned the airplane to the left and downslope. The airplane continued to descend and it subsequently collided with brush-covered terrain, sustaining substantial damage to the wings, fuselage, and empennage. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunction or failure with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot also noted that he failed to use the predeparture checklist, and a postaccident inspection revealed that the propeller pitch control was found to be in a cruise power setting.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7119M
- Reported as
- Cessna 175
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 55419
- Built
- 1958
- Airframe hours
- 2,295
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A1A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 28, 2014
- Departed
- None · Talkeetna, AK
- Destination
- BCV · Birchwood, AK
- Airport
- None · Ridgeline, runway 40, 1,000 × 50 ft, gravel
- Equipment
- Satellite tracking device, Handheld GPS, Stall warning system
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.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 47
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- April 26, 2013
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 741 total · 216 in this make and model · 692 as pilot in command · 40 in the last 90 days · 18 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 64 °F, dew point 46 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.14 inHg
- Observed at
- ATK, 15 nm away
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 27, 2015, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.2 MB in all.
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 N7119M · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.