Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Vor Lake Waterlane Seaplane Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Bettles, Alaska 99726
Wednesday, June 21, 2006 18:35 AKD
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airline transport certificated pilot and the sole passenger were departing to the south from a seaplane base in a float-equipped airplane, under Title 14, CFR part 91. Winds were reported to be 230 degrees (true) at 8 knots, with gusts to 14 knots. A witness who saw the airplane begin the takeoff run said that as the airplane continued its takeoff run towards the south, it "staggered into the air near the south end of the lake, then turned east, away from an area of slight rising terrain, and downwind." She said that the nose of the airplane then pitched sharply to the right, then to the left, and descended nose first, behind several trees. Postaccident investigation revealed that the airplane came to rest nose down in swampy terrain. No mechanical anomalies were noted with the airframe, engine, or engine accessories. The pilot noted in his written statement to the NTSB that just after takeoff, he began a slight turn to the east to avoid the rising terrain, and encountered a decreasing windshear. He said that the airplane stalled, and crashed at a point between the waterline and the trees. He stated that there were no preaccident mechanical problems with the airplane, and noted that he believed the four-point seat and shoulder harness restraint system in the airplane saved their lives.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during takeoff, which resulted in an inadvertent stall and collision with terrain. Factors contributing to the accident were the inadvertent stall, and an unfavorable wind.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 6/21/2006 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 1835 |
| Event Time Zone | -- |
| Event City | Bettles |
| Event State | ALASKA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 99726 |
| Event Date Year | 2006 |
| Event Date Month | 6 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 665321N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1512905W |
| Event Location Airport | VOR Lake Waterlane Seaplane |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 2A4 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0.2 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 631 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1905 Atlantic Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 355 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | PABT |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 631 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 2 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | ADT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 6500 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 21 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 7 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 230 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 8 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 14 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | -- |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Serious |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 2 |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 21254 |
| NTSB Notification Source | ANC FAA, ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jun 21 2006 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 25 2007 2:54PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\lema |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Anchorage FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N94204 |
| NTSB Number | ANC06LA074 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Cessna |
| Aircraft Model | 185F |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 18503289 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3350 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| 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 | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Apr 1 2006 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 20 |
| Airframe Hours | 6757.3 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | James C. & Anita L. McMillin |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Shiro |
| Aircraft Owner State | TX |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 77876 |
| 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 | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| 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 | -- |
| 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 | 2A4 |
| Departure City | Bettles |
| Departure State | AK |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1825 |
| Departure Time Zone | ADT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | -- |
| Destination City | -- |
| Destination State | -- |
| Destination Country | -- |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff - initial climb |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 5 2007 6:11PM |
| User who most recently changed record | STAM |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |