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ANC16CA053

2016-07-31 · Sleetmute, Alaska, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport SLQ

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during the initial climb after taking off from a wet runway and his exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.

Factual narrative

The pilot stated that he was attempting a takeoff from an unimproved, wet airstrip with four passengers on board, when the tricycle-geared airplane began to hydroplane, leading to a ground loop that resulted in substantial damage to the left wing and tail of the airplane. A passenger from the flight stated that after taxiing to the end of the runway and turning around, the pilot began the takeoff roll. After becoming airborne, the airplane immediately turned right, then left, then impacted the trees on the left side of the runway. Following the initial impact, the airplane began to travel backwards through the trees. Photographs of the airplane taken immediately following the accident by the passenger show the flaps in the retracted position, the right main landing gear box protruding through the floorboard of the airplane and substantial damage to the left wing and fuselage, just aft of the rear window. The pilot stated that he was attempting a takeoff from an unimproved, wet airstrip with four passengers on board when the tricycle-geared airplane began to hydroplane, followed by a ground loop, which resulted in substantial damage to the airplane's left wing and tail. A passenger stated that, after taxiing to the end of the runway and turning around, the pilot began the takeoff roll. After becoming airborne, the airplane immediately turned right, then left, then impacted the trees on the left side of the runway. Following the initial impact, the airplane began to travel backward through the trees. Photographs of the airplane taken immediately following the accident by the passenger show the flaps in the retracted position, the right main landing gear box protruding through the floorboard of the airplane, and substantial damage to the left wing and fuselage, just aft of the rear window. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Airspeed-Not attained/maintained - C
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Angle of attack-Not attained/maintained - C
  • — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Runway/land/takeoff/taxi surface-Wet surface-Effect on operation

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2016_ANC16CA053.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (stall). All research papers