ANC97LA003

The pilot reported he was attempting to take off from an off-airport site on a remote island. The takeoff area was surrounded by trees and brush, and the pilot said there was a right, quartering headwind from the northwest which he estimated as 10 to 15 knots, with higher gusts. Shortly after lift-off, the pilot said he lost control of the airplane and collided with adjoining brush. He said he was unaware if the wind suddenly quit, or if he was blown into the brush by a wind gust.

On October 2, 1996, about 1830 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Piper PA-22 airplane, N2821P, sustained substantial damage when it collided with terrain during takeoff from an off airport site near Hanning Bay, Montague Island, which is located approximately 22 miles southeast of Port Ashton, Alaska. The commercial certificated pilot and the one passenger aboard were not injured. The 14 CFR Part 91 flight operated in visual meteorological conditions without a flight plan.

During a telephone conversation with the NTSB investigator-in-charge on October 6, 1996, the pilot related that he and a hunting companion were attempting to takeoff to the west from an off airport site to return to Anchorage. The pilot described the takeoff area as a "bush strip...rocky gravel with tundra over...narrow with alders and spruce on both sides and at end." The takeoff area was approximately 1400 feet long and 25 feet wide. He said that shortly after liftoff, he lost control of the airplane and crashed. The pilot said the prevailing wind was a right-quartering headwind, which he estimated as 10 to 15 knots, with higher gusts. He reported that he is unsure if the wind suddenly quit, or if he encountered a wind gust, but said he apparently got away from the runway's center, and collided with adjoining brush.