Event ANC14LA011

Factual narrative

On December 15, 2013, about 1730 Alaska Standard Time, a Cessna 172M airplane, N20109, sustained substantial damage after colliding with an airport fence during takeoff from the Bethel Airport, Bethel, Alaska. The airplane was operated by Flight Alaska, Inc., doing business as Yute Air Alaska, as a scheduled commuter flight under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135. The commercial pilot, who was the sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a company flight plan had been filed for the scheduled flight to Napaskiak, Alaska. In a written statement to the National Transportation Safety Board, the operator stated that the pilot was departing on runway 30. During the takeoff roll, the airplane became airborne briefly, but immediately settled back onto the runway. The pilot started to abort the takeoff, but realized that he did not have sufficient runway to stop the airplane. He reapplied full power, but impacted the airport perimeter fence. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing and empennage. An examination of the airplane by a FAA airworthiness inspector revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation, and the engine was run on the airframe through various power settings without anomaly. The operator reported that, during the takeoff for the scheduled commuter flight, the airplane briefly became airborne but that it immediately settled back onto the runway. The pilot started to abort the takeoff, but he then realized that he did not have sufficient runway remaining to stop the airplane. He reapplied full power, but the airplane impacted the airport perimeter fence, which resulted in substantial damage to the right wing and empennage. An examination of the airplane revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation, and the engine was run on the airframe through various power settings without anomaly. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

• C Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Pilot - C
• C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained - C