- Date
- August 31, 1996, 20:00 local (Sep 1, 1996, 04:00 UTC)
- Place
- Mccarthy, AK
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N1879APiper PA-18
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 23, 1997
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19960831025339A
- Case key
- 2892
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 inadequate compensation for gusty wind conditions, and his selection of an unsuitable landing/takeoff site. A factor associated with the accident was the gusty wind.
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 ridgeline with one hunting client aboard. He said the wind was gusting from the southeast at 5 to 20 knots. During the takeoff roll, the right wing struck Alder bushes, and the airplane was pulled to the right, collapsing the left main landing gear and damaging the left wing. The pilot wrote in his report that the accident could have been avoided by not attempting to take off from the ridge in gusty wind conditions.
Factual narrative
On August 31, 1996, about 2000 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Piper PA-18 airplane, N1879A, sustained substantial damage when it collided with terrain during an attempted takeoff from an off airport site near Mc Carthy, Alaska. The commercial certificated pilot and the sole passenger aboard were not injured. The local, 14 CFR Part 91 hunt/guide flight operated in visual meteorological conditions. The flight last departed the Ultima Thule Lodge, located on the Chitina River, about 1830.
The pilot of the airplane is the co-owner of the Ultima Thule Lodge. The pilot reported he was attempting to takeoff from a ridge in gusty wind conditions. During the takeoff roll, the right wingtip struck adjoining brush and pulled the airplane sideways. The left wing subsequently hit the ground and the left main landing gear collapsed.
The pilot said in his written report to the NTSB the accident could have been prevented by not attempting to takeoff from the mountaintop strip in gusty wind conditions.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1879A
- Reported as
- Piper PA-18
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18-1711
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-B2B, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 91
- Registered owner
- Paul E. Claus
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
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
- 36
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 15,000 total · 8,000 in this make and model · 14,800 as pilot in command · 300 in the last 90 days · 100 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 125° at 5 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 7,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 39 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.