ANC93LA187

The pilot said he aborted the takeoff attempt when he realized he probably would not get the floatplane airborne before reaching the end of the lake. He said he mistakenly pulled the propeller control knob back instead of the throttle control knob. The airplane hit the edge of the lake and went up onto the tundra, during which substantial damage was done to the airplane.

History of flight

On September 19, 1993, at 1630 Alaska daylight time, a float equipped Cessna 180 airplane, N9600B, over ran the lake and collided with the terrain during an attempted takeoff at Charlie Lake, located 15 miles east of Farewell, Alaska. The private pilot and one passenger were not injured, and the airplane was substantially damaged. The personal flight was operating under 14 CFR Part 91 at the time. Visual meteorological conditions existed, and no flight plan was filed.

Shortly after the accident, during a telephone conversation, the pilot stated the following in part: "During the takeoff run I had one float off the water, and a gust of wind caused it to settle back down on the water. I didn't think I would get airborne before reaching the end of the lake, so decided to abort the takeoff. Then I mistakenly pulled back the propeller control knob instead of the throttle control knob. The airplane hit the edge of the lake and went up onto the tundra. The float struts and the left wing strut were damaged and had to be replaced."