Dillingham, AK, USA
N2217T
Cessna 185
The commercial certificated pilot was departing from a beach in a tailwheel-equipped airplane on a Title 14, CFR Part 91 personal flight. The pilot said the beach was an area he utilized for set-net fishing. He began his takeoff run between a creek and set-net ropes lying on the beach, a distance of about 550 feet. The airplane lifted off and climbed to about 10 feet, when the pilot said he felt a tug on the tail of the airplane, and realized that the tailwheel had snagged one of the ropes. The airplane pitched nose down, collided with the ground, and nosed over. The airplane received structural damage to the wings and vertical stabilizer. After the accident, the pilot said he found that when the tailwheel snagged the first rope, it pulled an adjacent rope upward, which snagged the main landing gear.
On June 18, 2006, about 1515 Alaska daylight time, a tundra tire, tailwheel-equipped Cessna 185 airplane, N2217T, sustained substantial damage when it collided with the ground during takeoff-initial climb from a remote beach, about 18 miles south-southeast of Dillingham, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) cross-country personal flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. The airplane was operated by the pilot. The commercial certificated pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight was en route to Dillingham, and no flight plan was filed. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), on June 29, the pilot reported that he was departing from a beach near Ekuk Spit, which is an area he utilizes for set-net fishing from the beach. The pilot said he began his takeoff run toward the west, between a creek and set-net ropes lying on the beach surface, a distance of about 550 feet. The airplane lifted off the ground and climbed to about 10 feet, when the pilot said he felt a tug on the tail of the airplane, and he realized that the tailwheel had snagged one of the ropes. The airplane pitched nose down about 45 degrees, collided with the ground, and nosed over. The airplane received structural damage to the wings and vertical stabilizer. After the accident, the pilot said he found that when the tailwheel snagged the first rope, it pulled an adjacent rope upward, which snagged the main landing gear.
The pilot's selection of unsuitable terrain for takeoff, which resulted in the airplane's tailwheel snagging a rope during the takeoff run, and subsequent in-flight collision with terrain. A factor contributing to the accident was a rope that was positioned across the departure path.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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