MCGRATH, AK, USA
N2106A
Piper PA-20
The private pilot was taking off from a gravel bar with a narrow area free of obstructions and he reported a left crosswind condition. During the takeoff run, the airplane hit a berm, bounced into the air, and drifted to the right. The right wing contacted a tree, and the left tire hooked on a stump.
On September 24, 1998, about 1110 Alaska daylight time, a Piper PA-20 airplane, N2106A, sustained substantial damage during takeoff from an off airport gravel bar, about 42 miles southeast of McGrath, Alaska, near position 62 degrees 30 minutes North latitude, 154 degrees 20 minutes West longitude. The private pilot and sole passenger were uninjured. The airplane was owned and operated by the pilot under 14 CFR Part 91 as a personal flight from a hunting camp to Farewell, Alaska. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed. The accident pilot, and the pilot of another airplane who was using the same gravel bar, related to the NTSB investigator-in-charge during a telephone interview on September 25, that there was a left crosswind. During the takeoff roll, the airplane bounced, drifted to the right, the right wing contacted trees, and the left wheel hooked on a tree stump. The pilot and witness described the gravel bar as 1,000 feet long, but the area free of obstructions was narrow.
The failure of the pilot to maintain directional control during takeoff. Factors involved in the accident were a crosswind, and the trees adjacent to the takeoff area.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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