Individually Owned: 151,845
Corporate Owned: 143,699
Shannons Pond Seaplane Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Dillingham, Alaska 99576
Wednesday, September 15, 2010 18:40 AKD
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
Two pilots of the same model Piper float-equipped airplanes were departing from the same floatplane lake toward a mutual destination when they collided in midair near the edge of the lake. Visual flight rules weather conditions existed at the time of the departures. The floatplane lake did not have air traffic control services, although an adjacent Federal Aviation Administration flight service station (FSS) was operating and issuing air traffic advisories via radio to participating pilots.
The pilot of one of the airplanes, N9699P, discovered that the airplane's battery was dead during the preflight inspection and hand-propped the airplane to start it before he taxied on the lake to warm up the engine. He said when he applied power for takeoff, the second airplane (N2FD) was to his left and behind him. He indicated that he was unable to use his airplane's radio due to the dead battery. During the initial takeoff climb he said he saw something that flashed by and heard a loud noise. He then lost control and the airplane impacted the ground next to the lake, sustaining substantial damage to both wings and the fuselage.
The pilot of the other airplane (N2FD) said that he started his airplane and, while taxiing on the lake, contacted the nearby FAA FSS for a traffic advisory. He said that he did not hear N9699P on the radio. When he departed the other accident airplane was still on the lake to his right and, he believed, still taxiing to warm up its engine. He said that he heard a loud bang, and thought something had broken on his airplane, resulting in a loss of control and impact. His airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings and the fuselage.
A witness said that he was in his house near the lake and heard two airplanes power up, one right after the other, and he looked outside to watch. Both airplanes started to take off from different areas on the same side of the lake and were headed in the same direction. He indicated that as both airplanes lifted off the water and started to climb, about 50 to 70 feet above the water, one airplane (N9699P) appeared to come up underneath the other's (N2FD) right wing. The witness said that the airplanes collided and tumbled to the shore of the lake.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Both pilots’ failure to see and avoid each other during initial climb, resulting in a midair collision. Contributing to the accident was the pilot of N9699P’s inability to use his airplane's radio for air traffic advisories.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 9/15/2010 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 1840 |
| Event Time Zone | -- |
| Event City | Dillingham |
| Event State | ALASKA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 99576 |
| Event Date Year | 2010 |
| Event Date Month | 9 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | Yes |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | -- |
| Event Location Latitude | 590334N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1583149W |
| Event Location Airport | Shannons Pond Seaplane |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 0Z3 |
| 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 | 80 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1849 Atlantic Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 110 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | PADL |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 81 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 3 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | ADT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 4000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 30 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 13 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 7 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 180 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 8 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.21 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 28108 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Anchorage, ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 11 2011 1:56PM |
| User who most recently changed record | johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
||
|---|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
Aircraft #2 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N9699P | N2FD |
| NTSB Number | ANC10LA094A | ANC10LA094B |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | Unknown | Unknown |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- | -- |
| Damage | Substantial | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | PIPER | PIPER |
| Aircraft Model | PA-18 | PA-18 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 18-7509044 | 18-4559 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1750 | 1750 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 2 | 2 |
| Number of Engines | 1 | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Oct 19 2009 12:00AM | Jun 2 2010 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 2555 | 3484 |
| ELT Installed | Yes | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Unknown | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown | C126 |
| Aircraft Owner Name | RODGERS JUSTIN C | WOOLINGTON JAMES D |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | DILLINGHAM | DILLINGHAM |
| Aircraft Owner State | AK | AK |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 99576-0788 | 99576 |
| Operator is an individual? | No | No |
| Operator Name | RODGERS JUSTIN C | WOOLINGTON JAMES D |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- | -- |
| Operator City | DILLINGHAM | DILLINGHAM |
| Operator State | AK | AK |
| Operator Country | USA | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 99576 | 99576 |
| Operator Code | -- | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No | No |
| 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 | Personal |
| Second Pilot on Board | No | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | 0Z3 | 0Z3 |
| Departure City | Dillingham | Dillingham |
| Departure State | AK | AK |
| Departure Country | USA | USA |
| Departure Time | 1840 | -- |
| Departure Time Zone | ADT | ADT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | 0Z3 | 0Z3 |
| Destination City | Dillingham | Dillingham |
| Destination State | AK | AK |
| Destination Country | USA | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 11 2011 7:50PM | Mar 11 2011 7:50PM |
| User who most recently changed record | stam | stam |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | -- | -- |
| Runway Length | -- | -- |
| Runway Width | -- | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No | No |
| Medical Flight | -- | -- |