ANC95LA091

The pilot reported he was attempting to takeoff with his tailwheel airplane from a rough, private airstrip. He said the airplane was bouncing during the pretakeoff taxi, and he was unable to read the checklist. He said he neglected to lower the wing flaps, and the airplane failed to become airborne before running off the end of the runway and nosing over. The pilot attributed the accident to his forgetting to lower the flaps. He also noted that gusting winds at the departure end of the runway were causing localized downdrafts.

On June 30, 1995, about 2130 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Stinson 108-2 airplane, N9600K, sustained substantial damage during an attempted takeoff from a private sod airstrip at Serpentine Hot Springs, located about 45 miles southeast of Shishmaref, Alaska. The private pilot and the one passenger aboard were not injured. The personal flight operated in visual meteorological conditions.

During a telephone conversation with the NTSB investigator-in- charge on July 1, the pilot reported he was attempting to takeoff to the west from the approximately 1200' long airstrip. He said the airplane did not become airborne prior to colliding with bushes at the end of the airstrip. The airplane continued through the bushes and subsequently nosed over. The pilot attributed the overrun to his failure to lower the airplane's flaps prior to beginning the takeoff roll. He said the airplane was bouncing too much to read the checklist during the pretakeoff taxi, and he forgot to lower the flaps.

The pilot's written statement to the NTSB dated July 13, contains similar information as above, but adds that there were gusting wind conditions near the departure end of the runway which caused downdrafts.