- Date
- September 2, 1993, 22:30 local (Sep 3, 1993, 06:30 UTC)
- Place
- Wulik River, AK
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N2384DCessna 170B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 30, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19930902052749A
- Case key
- 2422
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 failure to maintain control of the airplane. A factor was the crosswind.
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.
Analysis
The pilot said while attempting to takeoff from a mountain ridge, the left main wheel entered a depression and he had to use harder than normal control forces to keep the airplane aligned with the takeoff path. When the airplane came out of the depression, it bounced into the air and because of the left quartering headwind, it came back down on the right main wheel and the right wing. The airplane then spun around clockwise about 180 degrees and hit on the nose, then the left wing. Both main landing gear boxes were torn out of the fuselage, which was also damaged.
Factual narrative
On September 2, 1993, at 2230 Alaska daylight time, the pilot of a wheel equipped Cessna 170 airplane, N2384D, lost control and dragged a wing while attempting to takeoff from a mountain ridge near the Wulik River, approximately 80 miles northwest of Kotzebue, Alaska. The airline transport pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured, and the airplane was substantially damaged. The personal flight, operating under 14 CFR Part 91, was destined for another remote landing area located about 1 mile away from the accident site. Visual meteorological conditions existed, and a VFR flight plan was filed.
When the pilot was contacted by telephone on September 7, 1993, he stated the following, in part: "During the takeoff roll, the left main wheel got into a depression and I had to use harder than normal control forces to keep the airplane aligned with the takeoff path. When the airplane came out of the depression, it bounced into the air and because of the left quartering headwind, it came back down on the right main wheel and the right wing. The airplane then spun around clockwise about 180 degrees and hit on the nose, then the left wing. Both main landing gear boxes were torn out of the fuselage, which was also damaged."
The pilot's statement on the accident report (NTSB Form 6120.1/2) varies considerably from his telephone statement on September 7, 1993.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2384D
- Reported as
- Cessna 170B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 20536
- Airframe hours
- 2,548
- Engine
- Continental O-300A, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Anderson, Thomas M.
- Registered owner
- Anderson, Thomas M.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 20, 1993 · 49 hours before
- Flight plan
- VFR
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
- 32
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 4,602 total · 140 in this make and model · 4,555 as pilot in command · 320 in the last 90 days · 120 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 20 knots, gusting 25
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 36 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.