- Date
- April 17, 1996, 14:00 local (22:00 UTC)
- Place
- Chicken, AK
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N39781Cessna 170B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 11, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19960417031439A
- Case key
- 2824
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 first pilot's failure to maintain clearance with a tree. Factors in the accident were the first pilot's inadequate preflight planning and preparation and soft snow conditions.
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 certificated private pilot (first pilot), occupying the left seat, and a certificated airline transport pilot/flight instructor (second pilot), occupying the right seat, were departing a remote airstrip that was a 1,400 feet long area of compacted snow. The surface of the snow was soft and rough. By mutual agreement, the first pilot agreed to maintain directional control of the airplane during the takeoff roll. The second pilot agreed to manipulate the flaps to shorten the airplane's takeoff roll. During the takeoff roll, both pilots were focused in front of the airplane, and the left wing struck a tree, damaging the wing spar. The second pilot reported that the wind was from the east about 10 knots. The temperature was about 40 degrees F and the takeoff area sloped uphill about 1.5 degrees.
Factual narrative
On April 17, 1996, about 1400 Alaska daylight time, a wheel/ski equipped Cessna 170B, N39781, collided with a spruce tree during takeoff from a remote area, about 23 miles west of Chicken, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) cross-country personal flight when the accident occurred. The airplane, registered to the first pilot, sustained substantial damage. The certificated private pilot (first pilot), occupying the left seat, and a certificated airline transport pilot/flight instructor (second pilot), occupying the right seat, were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed.
The first pilot reported that he had established a 1,400 feet long area of compacted snow to support his mining operation in the area of Gold Creek. He was planning to fly the second pilot to Chicken, Alaska. The takeoff area is located at 3,700 feet mean sea level and is oriented in a northeast/southwest direction. The surface of the snow was soft and rough. The first pilot indicated that by mutual agreement, he would maintain directional control of the airplane during the takeoff roll. The second pilot would manipulate the flaps to shorten the airplane's takeoff roll. During the takeoff roll to the northeast, the first pilot reported that both pilots were focused in front of the airplane, but the left wing struck a tree, damaging the wing spar. The second pilot reported that the wind was from the east about 10 knots. The temperature was about 40 degrees F and the takeoff area sloped uphill about 1.5 degrees.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N39781
- Reported as
- Cessna 170B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 25723
- Airframe hours
- 3,148
- Engine
- Continental C-145-A, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- John H. Schwartz
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 18, 1995 · 65 hours before
- Destination
- CKX · 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
- 41
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 105 total · 80 in this make and model · 34 as pilot in command · 20 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 45° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 60 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 50 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.