Alton Bay Seaplane Base Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Alton Bay, New Hampshire 03810
Saturday, February 5, 2000 15:00 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot departed runway 01, an ice runway. During the takeoff, the airplane pulled to the left, and the pilot applied full right rudder to 'straighten out the path.' After rotation, the airplane impacted a snow bank and the pilot 'lost all control of the plane.' The pilot did not receive a weather briefing prior to his departure; however, he reported 'swirly, gusty winds' at the airport. Witnesses at the airport reported that the airplane's takeoff roll was much shorter than other airplanes. Approximately 20 feet off the ground, the airplane 'bobbled, stalled, and descended rapidly,' impacting a snow bank to the left of the runway.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane during takeoff which resulted in an inadvertent stall. A factor in the accident was the pilot's inadequate compensation for the wind conditions.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/5/2000
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1500
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City ALTON BAY
Event State NEW HAMPSHIRE
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 03810
Event Date Year 2000
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport ALTON BAY SEAPLANE BASE
Event Location Nearest Airport ID B18
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 504
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1451 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 200
Weather Observation Facility ID CON
Elevation of weather observation facility 346
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 20
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 0
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -13
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 300
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 12
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) 0
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 77
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Feb 5 2000 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1700
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 12 2000 1:27PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6577P
NTSB Number NYC00LA072
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-24
Aircraft Series Identifier PA-24
Aircraft Serial Number 24-1699
Certified Max Gross Weight 2550
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Nov 12 1999 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 30
Airframe Hours 3926
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name BRADFORD RANDLETT
Aircraft Owner Street Address 10 ROBIN ROAD
Aircraft Owner City WESTWOOD
Aircraft Owner State MA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 02090
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code B18
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1500
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code OWD
Destination City NORWOOD
Destination State MA
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:35AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 1
Runway Length 3500
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --