- Date
- September 20, 1993, 11:00 local (19:00 UTC)
- Place
- Pilot Point, AK
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N6721LPiper PA-18
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 30, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19930920035969A
- Case key
- 2435
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 failed to adequately compensate for the wind conditions. A factor was the unfavorable wind.
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 that just after liftoff from the water, and passing the edge of the lake, the airplane settled onto the tundra. One float attaching Point and the surrounding area on the fuselage were substantially damaged. The Pilot said he thought he might have encountered a wind change or shear.
Factual narrative
On September 20, 1993, at 1100 Alaska daylight time, a float equipped Piper PA-18 airplane, N6721L, operated by Dahle Air Service, Inc. of Anchorage, Alaska, crashed during takeoff from an unnamed lake located 22 miles southeast of Pilot Point, Alaska. The commercial pilot and the one passenger were not injured. The airplane was substantially damaged. The business flight was operating under 14 CFR Part 91 at the time. Visual meteorological conditions existed, and a company VFR flight plan was filed.
During a telephone interview with the pilot on September 22, 1993, he stated the following, in part: "I had just taken off and cleared the edge of the lake when the airplane just settled back down on the tundra. The winds were variable from the northwest to the southwest at about 15 gusting to 20 knots. I think I encountered a downdraft. When the airplane settled down on the floats, one float attaching point and the surrounding area of the fuselage was damaged."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6721L
- Reported as
- Piper PA-18
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18-7409114
- Airframe hours
- 1,919
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-A2B, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Operator
- Dahle, Clyde M., doing business as Dahle Air Service
- Registered owner
- Dahle, Clyde M.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 10, 1993 · 35 hours before
- Flight plan
- Company 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
- 48
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 2,940 total · 1,268 in this make and model · 2,907 as pilot in command · 35 in the last 90 days · 29 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 15 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,000 ft broken
- 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.