- Date
- August 22, 1994, 13:16 local (21:16 UTC)
- Place
- Talkeentna, AK
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N61272Cessna 150J
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 9, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19940822022629A
- Case key
- 2550
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 unsuitable takeoff area selected. A factor was the soft spot in the airstrip's surface.
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 was attempting to take off on a 950 foot gravel airstrip. He aborted his take off approximately halfway down the airstrip. During the aborted take off roll, the nose wheel hit a soft spot on the airstrip and the airplane nosed down.
Factual narrative
On August 22, 1994, at 1316 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Cessna 150J airplane, N61272, registered to David Drews of Palmer, Alaska, and operated by Daniel Kurtz, the pilot, also of Palmer, struck a soft spot on the runway during takeoff and nosed down on a gravel airstrip located below the Kahiltna Glacier, near Talkeetna, Alaska. The personal flight, operating under 14 CFR Part 91, was departing the gravel strip and the destination was Palmer. No flight plan was filed and visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The pilot and his passenger were not injured and the airplane was substantially damaged.
According to a passenger, who was waiting to be flown out next, the airplane started the take off and the nose wheel hit a soft, sandy spot. The pilot aborted the take off, the nose gear collapsed, and the airplane nosed down.
According to the pilot's statement, the take off was aborted when he lost lift approximately 450 feet down the 950 foot long runway. During the aborted take off roll the nose wheel hit a soft spot and collapsed.
The airplane was equipped with an O-320-E2A engine capable of producing 150 horsepower. The airplane records showed a Supplemental Type Certificate, however, there were no new performance figures or charts to show if there was any change in performance.
According to the airplane owner's manual, at a gross weight condition, the interpolated take off distance for the conditions described by the pilot was 820 feet at a minimum.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N61272
- Reported as
- Cessna 150J
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15070933
- Airframe hours
- 3,608
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2A, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Kurtz, Daniel M.
- Registered owner
- Drews, David E.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 19, 1994 · 8 hours before
- Destination
- PAQ · Palmer, AK
- Airport
- runway 18, 950 × 15 ft, gravel
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
- 43
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 148 total · 96 in this make and model · 66 as pilot in command · 21 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 40 statute miles
- Temperature
- 61 °F
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 N61272 · 3
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.