- Date
- August 16, 1996, 12:00 local (20:00 UTC)
- Place
- Slana, AK
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N6760BPiper PA-18
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 23, 1997
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19960816023159A
- Case key
- 2885
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 directional control during takeoff. A factor associated with the accident was the rough and uneven terrain.
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 reported he was attempting to take off from a remote gravel bar. During the takeoff roll, the airplane encountered a hump in the runway which pushed the airplane to the left. Shortly after passing over the hump, the airplane became airborne. The left wing then collided with trees and brush, and the pilot was unable to maintain directional control. The airplane subsequently went off the left side of the gravel bar and came to rest in a stand of trees and brush.
Factual narrative
On August 16, 1996, about 1200 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Piper PA-18 airplane, N6760B, sustained substantial damage when it collided with trees during an attempted takeoff from a remote gravel bar located in the Nabesna River drainage near Slana, Alaska. The solo private pilot was not injured. The personal, 14 CFR Part 91 flight operated in visual meteorological conditions.
During a telephone conversation with the NTSB investigator-in-charge on August 19, the pilot stated that there was a small hump, or gravel swell, in the takeoff area. He said when the airplane encountered the hump, the airplane was forced to the left, and he was unable to maintain directional control. Shortly after passing over the hump, the airplane became airborne. The left wing then collided with a tree and brush, and the airplane subsequently went off the left side of the takeoff area, coming to rest in a stand of trees and brush.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6760B
- Reported as
- Piper PA-18
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18-5033
- Airframe hours
- 4,787
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320A2B, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Larry A. Vandegrift
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 3, 1995 · 50 hours before
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
- 49
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 1,394 total · 1,300 in this make and model · 1,394 as pilot in command · 75 in the last 90 days · 25 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °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 N6760B · 4
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.