Event ANC06LA075

Factual narrative

On June 21, 2006, about 1039 Alaska daylight time, a float-equipped Cessna 182 airplane, N91510, sustained substantial damage during takeoff from the Metro Field float pond, Fairbanks, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) cross-country personal flight when the accident occurred. The airplane owner/pilot operated the airplane. The commercial certificated pilot and the sole passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated about 1036, and was en route to the accident pilot's remote cabin. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), on June 21, a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) operations inspector assigned to the Fairbanks Flight Standards District Office (FSDO), reported that he arrived on scene about 1 hour after the accident. According to the FAA inspector, the pilot reported to him that just before takeoff, he thought that his seat slid aft, and he lost control of the airplane. Further discussions with the FAA inspector disclosed that before he arrived at the accident scene, the accident pilot and his passenger had unloaded the entire contents of the airplane, and had placed the items in the back of the pilot's pickup truck. The FAA inspector estimated the weight of the items in the truck to be about 250 pounds. Additionally, he reported that the airplane's fuel tanks were full (84 gallons) at the time of the accident, and he estimated the combined weight of the pilot and passenger to be about 540 pounds. The estimated gross weight of the airplane at takeoff was 3,250 pounds, about 450 pounds in excess of the airplane's maximum takeoff gross weight. The FAA inspector reported that the airplane came to rest in a stand of trees, about 75 feet from the edge of the water, along the airplane's anticipated departure flight route. He said that ground scars and vegetation disruption were present from the shoreline to the airplane's resting point. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. According to the NTSB Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120.1/2) submitted by the pilot, he voluntarily surrendered his pilot certificate to the FAA shortly after the accident. He also noted that his last valid second-class medical certificate was issued on July 31, 1996. The commercial pilot and one passenger were departing in a float-equipped airplane on a Title 14, CFR Part 91 cross-country personal flight. According to an FAA inspector that arrived at the site about 1 hour after the accident, the pilot reported to him that just before takeoff he thought his seat slid aft, and he lost control of the airplane. The airplane's floats subsequently struck the shoreline at the departure end of the lake, and the airplane came to rest about 75 feet from the edge of the water. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. During the FAA inspector's postaccident investigation, he estimated the weight of the items that were on board to be about 250 pounds. Additionally, he reported that the airplane's fuel tanks were full (84 gallons), and he estimated the combined weight of the pilot and passenger to be about 540 pounds. The inspector's estimated gross weight of the airplane at takeoff was 3,250 pounds, about 450 pounds in excess of the airplane's maximum takeoff gross weight. The pilot reported no preaccident mechanical anomalies, and voluntarily surrendered his pilot certificate to the FAA shortly after the accident. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12