English Bay Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Nanwalek, Alaska 99603
Sunday, May 2, 2004 13:40 AKD

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The commercial certificated pilot was departing a remote gravel runway, located adjacent to a rocky beach, on an on-demand air taxi flight. The airplane was equipped with a short takeoff and landing (STOL) modification. The STOL installation droops the ailerons about 16 degrees as the flaps are extended. The pilot said he lowered the airplane flaps to 20 degrees and applied full power for a short field takeoff with the control yoke aft. As the airplane gained speed, the pilot said the nose of the airplane rotated to about 10 degrees above the horizon, and the main landing gear tires lifted off the runway surface. About 3 feet above the runway, the airplane suddenly rolled to the left. The pilot applied right aileron and right rudder to stop the roll, without affect. The left wingtip collided with small rocks along the beach about 800 feet from the beginning of the runway, and the airplane swerved about 30 degrees to the left. The airplane came to rest on a rocky beach, about 150 degrees to the left of the runway centerline. The pilot said the engine was producing power throughout the event. He did not report any aileron control problem. Postaccident photographs of the accident scene and the airplane revealed that the left wing was bent upward at the tip. The right wing was bent upward about midspan. A view of the aft side of the airplane revealed that the left wing flap was extended slightly. The right wing flap was extended about one-half of its range. The airplane was recovered by insurance and company personnel, and transported to the operator's facility. The wings, rudder, horizontal stabilizer, and the elevator were removed for transport. Postaccident examination of the wings by the NTSB investigator-in-charge revealed no observed mechanical malfunction of the internal flap and aileron control mechanism within each wing. Since the wings were removed for recovery, the rigging of the aileron and flap cables could not be established. The right front seat passenger was recording the flight on a hand-held video recorder. Review of a copy of the video tape revealed that the airplane was taxied at a fast pace toward the departure end of the runway. The airpane made a rolling "U" turn, did not slow or stop, and the pilot applied full power. As the airplane lifed off, it almost immeditely rolled to the left and collided with the ground. The video does not record any sound of a stall warning horn, or a view of the flap handle position. The elapsed time from application of full power for takeoff, until the left wing collided with the ground, was about 17 seconds. Following the accident, additional video from the passenger's camera recorded the position of the airplane at the point of rest. The video showed that the left flap appeared to be slightly extended. The right flap appeared extended about one-half of its normal travel.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A loss of directional control for an undetermined reason during takeoff-initial climb, which resulted in the left wing colliding with the ground.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/2/2004
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1340
Event Time Zone --
Event City Nanwalek
Event State ALASKA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 99603
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator --
On Ground Collision occurred ? --
Event Location Latitude 592108N
Event Location Longitude 1515531W
Event Location Airport English Bay
Event Location Nearest Airport ID KEB
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 27
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 1500
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions --
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 7
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 270
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Light
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 5
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 17370
NTSB Notification Source FAA Regional Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date May 2 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1407
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Mar 30 2005 6:20AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office FAA-AL-ANC FSDO 03

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N35860
NTSB Number ANC04LA050
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
Type of Flight Plan filed Company VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model U206F
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number U20602764
Certified Max Gross Weight 3600
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 6
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Mar 28 2004 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 98
Airframe Hours 7650
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Smokey Bay Air Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address P.O. Box 457
Aircraft Owner City Homer
Aircraft Owner State AK
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 99603
Operator is an individual? No
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 X53A
Owner has at least one certificate --
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not Non-scheduled
Indicates Domestic or International Flight Domestic
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail Passenger Only
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) --
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code KEB
Departure City Nanwalek
Departure State AK
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1340
Departure Time Zone ADT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code PAHO
Destination City Homer
Destination State AK
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff - initial climb
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record --
User who most recently changed record --
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 01
Runway Length 1850
Runway Width 50
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --