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N2217T accident description

Alaska map... Alaska list
Crash location 58.776667°N, 158.444444°W
Reported location is a long distance from the NTSB's reported nearest city. This often means that the location has a typo, or is incorrect.
Nearest city Dillingham, AK
59.039722°N, 158.457500°W
18.2 miles away
Tail number N2217T
Accident date 18 Jun 2006
Aircraft type Cessna 185
Additional details: None

NTSB Factual Report

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.

NTSB Probable Cause

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.

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