# NTSB ANC95LA125: Cessna 207, N75738, Shishmaref, AK, July 23, 1995 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: July 23, 1995, 12:00 local (20:00 UTC) - Place: Shishmaref, AK - Coordinates: 66.019027, -165.910232 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=66.0190&lon=-165.9102&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Initial climb](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/350) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 6 uninjured - Status: Completed, report February 14, 1996 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - NTSB case key (mKey): 2704 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC95LA125 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/2704/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC95LA125 ## Probable cause THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO ADEQUATELY COMPENSATE FOR THE DOWNDRAFT. FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ACCIDENT WERE: THE SHORT, UPHILL RUNWAY, AND DOWNDRAFTS. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - In flight collision with terrain/water, takeoff - initial climb - airport facilities,runway/landing area condition - uphill (contributing factor) - airport facilities,runway/landing area condition - short runway/landing area (contributing factor) - terrain condition - high vegetation - weather condition - downdraft (contributing factor) - compensation for wind conditions - inadequate, pilot in command (cause) - stall/mush - inadvertent, pilot in command ## Analysis THE PILOT WAS TAKING OFF FROM A SHORT, UPHILL RUNWAY TOWARDS RISING TERRAIN. TALL BRUSH BORDERED THE END OF THE DEPARTURE RUNWAY. THE PILOT REPORTED THE AIRPLANE BECAME AIRBORNE ABOUT 3/4 OF THE WAY DOWN THE RUNWAY, BUT SOON ENCOUNTERED DOWNDRAFTS AND WAS UNABLE TO CLIMB. HE SAID THE STALL WARNING HORN WENT OFF, THE AIRPLANE SHUDDERED, AND THEN DESCENDED INTO TALL BRUSH. AN AVIATION MECHANIC WHO WENT TO THE SCENE SAID THE AIRPLANE'S FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH THE BRUSH WAS APPROXIMATELY 50 FEET BEYOND THE DEPARTURE END OF THE RUNWAY, AND THE AIRPLANE'S MAIN LANDING GEAR MADE TRACKS IN THE DIRT OF THE AIRSTRIP UNTIL APPROXIMATELY 150 FEET FROM THAT INITIAL IMPACT POINT (APPROXIMATELY 100 FEET FROM DEPARTURE END OF RUNWAY). ## Factual narrative On July 23, 1995, about 1200 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Cessna 207 airplane, N75738, sustained substantial damage when it collided with brush and terrain during an attempted takeoff from an improved, but not maintained, rural airstrip at Serpentine Hot Springs. Serpentine Hot Springs is located approximately 45 miles southeast of Shishmaref, Alaska. The airline transport certificated pilot and five passengers aboard were not injured. The 14 CFR Part 91 flight operated in visual meteorological conditions without a flight plan. The pilot reported he was attempting to takeoff into a 15 to 18 knot northeasterly wind. The wind favored runway 09, which slopes uphill approximately 3 percent. The pilot estimated the runway length as 1,300 feet long and 50 feet wide. In his written statement to the NTSB, the pilot states that the airplane lifted off after 3/4 of the runway had been used, accelerated in ground effect, and then began to climb. He said the airplane crossed the brush line at the end of the runway, and the airplane, "...encountered mechanically induced wind shear and downdrafts." He said that the stall warning horn went off, the airplane shuddered, and began to sink towards the brush. The airplane settled into the brush about 500 feet beyond the end of the runway. An airframe and powerplant aviation mechanic who went to the site and inspected the wreckage, said, in part: "The runway is about 1,200 feet long...the site the airplane was recovered from was approximately 200 feet from the end of the runway. The aircraft had contacted the ground four times between the end of the runway and where it finally stopped. The first time was in four foot high willows about 50 feet from the end of the runway. Tracks from the aircraft right and left main gear could be seen in the dirt at the northeast end of the runway about 150 feet from the first point of contact in the willows." A witness on the ground who saw the takeoff, said, in a portion of her written statement: "The airplane used the length of the runway and was airborne when its landing gear began to brush the willows beyond the runway." ## Aircraft - Registration: N75738 (not matched to a registry record) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 207 - Category: Airplane - Serial number: T20700641 - Airframe hours: 8888 - Engines: CONTINENTAL IO-520-F3B 300 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Bering Air - Registered owner: Gustavus Dray - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: 100 hour, June 20, 1995, 26 hours before - Destination: OME, NOME, AK - Airport: NONE, Serpentine Hot Springs, runway 9, 1,200 × 50 ft, dirt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 30; flight instructor, airline transport, commercial; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; seat: left; flight hours: 7,250 total, 600 in this make and model, 7,050 as pilot in command, 300 in the last 90 days, 100 in the last 30 days, 14 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 60° at 15 knots, gusting 18 - Visibility: 20 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 2,500 ft broken - Temperature: 48 °F ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 19950723026359A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19950723026359A), Jul 23, 1995: Cessna T207A, Shishmaref, AK, Substantial damage. Settled into brush off end of remote strip after liftoff. 1200 foot runway has upgrade. Slowed by hitting willow. From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.