Cessna 182 N1881X

Summary

On 6 September 1999 at about 22:00 local time, a Cessna 182 registered N1881X was involved in an accident near Nikolai, Alaska, United States. One person was 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

6 September 1999 at 22:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Nikolai, Alaska, United States

Coordinates

62.8704, -153.8704

Aircraft

Cessna 182

Registration

N1881X

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Kuskokwim River → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC99LA155

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's selection of an unsuitable takeoff and landing area. Factors associated with this accident were the unfavorable winds, and sunglare.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The solo private pilot was attempting to takeoff from a gravel bar with buffalo meat from a successful hunt. The airplane collided with a smaller gravel bar, sustaining substantial damage to the left wing, left horizontal stabilizer, left elevator, tail cone, and engine firewall. The left elevator was missing the outboard six inches, and the left elevator horn and balance weight. The Alaska State Trooper who discovered and documented the airplane the day after the accident, interviewed the pilot's hunting partner. The partner told the trooper the pilot said that during takeoff the wind died, he lost ground effect, and the sun was in his eyes. The trooper documented tire tracks on the large bar leading to the river's edge, and tracks on the smaller bar ending at the airplane. The pilot told the NTSB investigator-in-charge (IIC) that he landed on the smaller gravel bar the day prior to the accident, and the damage occurred while he was taxiing. A pilot who transported the accident pilot to a landing strip where he could arrange repairs told the NTSB IIC that the accident pilot taxied the airplane to the smaller gravel bar, across the 75 feet wide by 3 feet deep stretch of river at low water, and that the water level had risen. The trooper told the NTSB IIC that it did not appear possible to taxi an airplane between the two gravel bars.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.