- Date
- October 1, 1994, 15:00 local (23:00 UTC)
- Place
- Aniak, AK
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N2707XCessna 180
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 29, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19941001047239A
- Case key
- 2604
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 proper runway alignment during the takeoff roll. A factor associated with the accident was the rough/uneven condition of the runway'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 flight was departing an airstrip that was in poor condition. The pilot stated the left main gear 'slipped' into a depression in the runway's surface during the takeoff roll. The airplane continued to slip off the runway until the left wheel struck the willows growing on the runway's edge. The pilot stated it was too late to abort the takeoff and the airplane overran the end of the runway.
Factual narrative
On October 1, 1994, at 1500 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Cessna 180 airplane, N2707X, registered to Greg Wiren of Chicken, Alaska, and operated by the pilot, ran off an airstrip near Taylor Mountain located near Aniak, Alaska. The personal flight operating under 14 CFR Part 91, was departing the airstrip and the destination was McGrath, Alaska. 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 the pilot, the airstrip was in poor condition with potholes and willows growing close to the edge. During the takeoff roll, when he lifted the airplane's tail, the left main wheel "slipped" into a depression on the runway. The left wheel continued to slip off the runway and into the willows on the runway's edge. He stated it was too late to abort the takeoff and the airplane ran off the end of the runway.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2707X
- Reported as
- Cessna 180
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18051507
- Airframe hours
- 6,560
- Engine
- Continental O-470-R, 230 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Hall, Wayne
- Registered owner
- Wiren, Gregory
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 14, 1994 · 50 hours before
- Destination
- MCG · Mcgrath, AK
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
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Airline transport, Commercial, Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Multi-engine land, Multi-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Expired
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 14,700 total · 15 in this make and model · 14,000 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 12 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility
- 2 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,500 ft overcast
- 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.
Other investigations on N2707X · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.