PORT ALSWORTH, AK, USA
N1801Q
Cessna 206
The air taxi cargo flight was departing a small, remote lake. The pilot of the float-equipped airplane estimated the wind velocity as approximately 5 knots. Shortly after lift-off, while still in ground effect, he said the wind either shifted or died down. He felt the airplane suddenly lose altitude, and continue to sink until it collided with rocks and the shoreline.
On September 3, 1996, about 1515 Alaska daylight time, a float equipped Cessna 206 airplane, N1801Q, sustained substantial damage when it collided with terrain while attempting to takeoff from an unnamed lake located approximately 25 miles west of Port Alsworth, Alaska. The solo commercial certificated pilot received minor injuries. The 14 CFR Part 135 on-demand air taxi flight operated in visual meteorological conditions. The flight originated at Lake Hood, Anchorage, Alaska, about 1100. According to the Director of Operations for Alaska Bush Carriers, the pilot told him he was attempting to takeoff from a small lake with a light load. The airplane had just lifted off, and was flying in ground effect, when the wind either shifted or died down. The airplane touched down on the water, entered a rocky shoreline area, and became momentarily airborne again. The airplane subsequently crashed just beyond the shoreline. Emergency medical treatment was provided by a veterinarian who was an Alaska Bush Carrier's customer and was camped nearby. The veterinarian sutured a wound over the pilot's eye.
The pilot's inadequate compensation for the wind conditions. A factor associated with the accident was the unfavorable wind.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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