KODIAK, AK, USA
N8653Y
PIPER PA-18
THE PILOT AND PASSENGER OF A TUNDRA TIRE EQUIPPED TAILWHEEL AIRPLANE WERE DEPARTING A REMOTE BEACH LANDING STRIP ON A PERSONAL CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT. THE PILOT INDICATED THAT A CROSS-WIND OF 15 KNOTS WAS BLOWING AND THE TERRAIN WAS ROUGH AND UNEVEN. DURING THE TAKEOFF ROLL, THE AIRPLANE HIT A BUMP AND BEGAN TO TURN TO THE RIGHT. THE RIGHT LANDING GEAR STRUCK A LOG AND THE AIRPLANE RECEIVED DAMAGE TO THE RIGHT LANDING GEAR AND RIGHT WING.
On September 13, 1994, at 0930 Alaska daylight time, a tundra tire wheel equipped Piper PA-18 airplane, N8653Y, owned and operated by the pilot-in-command, experienced an on ground collision with terrain during takeoff at Cape Douglas across from Kodiak Island on the Alaska Peninsula. The private certificated pilot and his one passenger, the sole occupants, were not injured and the airplane sustained substantial damage. At the time of the mishap, the flight was being conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. The pilot left an itinerary of his flight schedule with his wife and reported that visual meteorological conditions prevailed in the area at the time of the accident. During a telephone interview on the afternoon of September 15, 1994, the pilot told the NTSB investigator-in-charge that during a beach takeoff the right main landing gear rolled onto a rough surface depression resulting in the collapse of the landing gear and collateral damage to the right wing. The pilot indicated that a cross-wind from the south at 15 knots was blowing at the time of the accident.
A FAILURE OF THE PILOT TO ADEQUATELY COMPENSATE FOR CROSSWIND CONDITIONS. A CROSSWIND AND ROUGH/UNEVEN TERRAIN WERE FACTORS IN THE ACCIDENT.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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