Aviation Crash Map

Piper PA-18 N9699P

16 September 2010 · Dillingham, Alaska, United States · Serious injuries

Summary

On 16 September 2010 at about 02:40 local time, a Piper PA-18 registered N9699P, operated by Rodgers Justin C, was involved in an accident near Dillingham, Alaska, United States. 2 people were on board and one was seriously injured, one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

The record

Date
at 02:40
Classification
Accident
Location
Dillingham, Alaska, United States
Nearest airport
Shannons Pond Seaplane (0Z3)
Coordinates
59.0594, -158.5303
Aircraft
Piper PA-18
Registration
N9699P
Category
Airplane
Engines
1
Operator
Rodgers Justin C
Operating rule
Part 91: General Aviation
Purpose of flight
Personal
Phase of flight
Not recorded
Route
Dillingham → Dillingham
Aircraft damage
Substantial
Weather
VMC
Light
Day
NTSB number
ANC10LA094

People

1 person was seriously injured.

On board Died Serious Minor Uninjured
2 0 1 1 0

Probable cause

Both pilots’ failure to see and avoid each other during initial climb, resulting in a midair collision. Contributing to the accident was the pilot of N9699P’s inability to use his airplane's radio for air traffic advisories.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Two pilots of the same model Piper float-equipped airplanes were departing from the same floatplane lake toward a mutual destination when they collided in midair near the edge of the lake. Visual flight rules weather conditions existed at the time of the departures. The floatplane lake did not have air traffic control services, although an adjacent Federal Aviation Administration flight service station (FSS) was operating and issuing air traffic advisories via radio to participating pilots. The pilot of one of the airplanes, N9699P, discovered that the airplane's battery was dead during the preflight inspection and hand-propped the airplane to start it before he taxied on the lake to warm up the engine. He said when he applied power for takeoff, the second airplane (N2FD) was to his left and behind him. He indicated that he was unable to use his airplane's radio due to the dead battery. During the initial takeoff climb he said he saw something that flashed by and heard a loud noise. He then lost control and the airplane impacted the ground next to the lake, sustaining substantial damage to both wings and the fuselage. The pilot of the other airplane (N2FD) said that he started his airplane and, while taxiing on the lake, contacted the nearby FAA FSS for a traffic advisory. He said that he did not hear N9699P on the radio. When he departed the other accident airplane was still on the lake to his right and, he believed, still taxiing to warm up its engine. He said that he heard a loud bang, and thought something had broken on his airplane, resulting in a loss of control and impact. His airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings and the fuselage. A witness said that he was in his house near the lake and heard two airplanes power up, one right after the other, and he looked outside to watch. Both airplanes started to take off from different areas on the same side of the lake and were headed in the same direction. He indicated that as both airplanes lifted off the water and started to climb, about 50 to 70 feet above the water, one airplane (N9699P) appeared to come up underneath the other's (N2FD) right wing. The witness said that the airplanes collided and tumbled to the shore of the lake.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.

Aircraft involved

Aircraft Registration Operator Damage
Piper PA-18 N9699P Rodgers Justin C Substantial
Piper PA-18 N2FD Woolington James D Substantial

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All 2,950 records for this type

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26 Aug 2010 Piper PA-14
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All 170,864 records in United States