Cessna 206 N35962

Summary

On 24 September 2001 at about 23:00 local time, a Cessna 206 registered N35962 was involved in an accident near Galena, Alaska, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

24 September 2001 at 23:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Galena, Alaska, United States

Coordinates

65.1333, -155.6667

Aircraft

Cessna 206

Registration

N35962

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Galena → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC01LA147

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadequate preflight planning and preparation for takeoff from an off-airport, short field site. Factors associated with the accident are a variable wind, and the pilot's inadequate weather evaluation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported he was preparing to takeoff with a load of moose meat and a hunter from a remote gravel bar. He checked the performance tables for takeoff in the short takeoff and landing (STOL) modified airplane, and calculated he would need approximately 500 feet to takeoff. He estimated the length of the gravel bar as 600 feet. In his report to the NTSB, the pilot said a ground witness indicated the prevailing wind shifted from an 8 to 10 knot headwind into a 5 knot tailwind, just as the airplane became airborne at the end of the gravel bar. The pilot said he was unable to keep the airplane in the air, and it settled into the water at the edge of the gravel bar and nosed over. He noted in his report that the accident could have been prevented by: "Lighter loads and more of them. Closer attention to possible wind shear conditions."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.