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NTSB Identification: ANC97LA153. The docket is stored in the (offline) NTSB Imaging System.

Accident occurred Sunday, September 21, 1997 at WASILLA, AK

Aircraft: Cessna 185E, registration: N70122

Injuries: 1 Uninjured



Event: 20001208X08774 Status: Final Report Approved On Friday, November 06, 1998



NTSB Preliminary Narrative (6120.19A)



On September 21, 1997, about 0945 Alaska daylight time, a tundra tire equipped Cessna 185E, N70122, crashed after takeoff from a private

airstrip, about 4 miles northeast of Wasilla, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) cross-country ferry flight to

Merrill Field, Anchorage, Alaska, when the accident occurred. The airplane, operated by the pilot, sustained substantial damage. The

certificated private pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed.



During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), on September 21, 1997, at

1130, the pilot reported the airplane's last annual inspection was July 29, 1988. The airplane had not been flown since 1989. The pilot was

planning to ferry the airplane to Anchorage for maintenance from Anderson Lake Strip. The pilot did not obtain a ferry permit. Prior to takeoff, the

pilot drained water from the fuel tanks, and added several gallons of fuel to each tank. He then sloshed the fuel around in each tank, drained

them, and then added full fuel to each tank. The pilot then performed two separate engine run-ups, and did not encounter any engine problem.



The pilot departed the airstrip in an easterly direction and climbed to about 120 to 200 feet above the ground. The engine suddenly quit running,

and the pilot selected an emergency landing area near a road. During the landing approach to the ground, the airplane collided with a power line

and several trees. The right wing was torn from the fuselage.



A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airworthiness inspector, Anchorage Flight Standards District Office (FSDO), inspected the airplane

shortly after the accident, at the accident scene. He reported that a small amount of water was found in the left wing fuel drain, the header tank

drain, and the gascolator drain.



NTSB Final Narrative (6120.4)



The pilot was planning to ferry his airplane from a private airstrip to a maintenance facility. The airplane's last annual inspection was in 1988.

The airplane had not been flown since 1989. The pilot did not obtain a ferry permit. Prior to takeoff, the pilot drained water from the fuel tanks,

and added several gallons of fuel to each tank. He then sloshed the fuel around in each tank, drained them, and then added full fuel to each

tank. The pilot then performed two separate engine run-ups, and did not encounter any engine problem. The pilot departed the airstrip in an

easterly direction and climbed to about 120 to 200 feet above the ground. The engine suddenly quit running, and the pilot selected an emergency

landing area near a road. During the landing approach to the ground, the airplane collided with a power line and several trees. The right wing

was torn from the fuselage. An FAA airworthiness inspector found a small amount of water in the left wing fuel drain, the header tank drain,

and the gascolator drain.



NTSB Probable Cause Narrative



The loss of engine power due to water contaminated fuel, and the pilot's inadequate preflight inspection of the airplane. A factor associated

with the accident was the lack of suitable terrain for a forced landing.



Occurrences and Sequence of Events

Occurrence: 1, LOSS OF ENGINE POWER(TOTAL) - NONMECHANICAL

Phase of Operation: TAKEOFF - INITIAL CLIMB



Sequence of Events for Occurrence Number: 1

1 ( Cause ) FLUID, FUEL / CONTAMINATION, WATER / (0)

2 ( Cause ) AIRCRAFT PREFLIGHT / INADEQUATE / PILOT IN COMMAND



Occurrence: 2, FORCED LANDING

Phase of Operation: EMERGENCY LANDING AFTER TAKEOFF



Sequence of Events for Occurrence Number: 2

1 ( Factor ) TERRAIN CONDITIONS / NONE SUITABLE / (0)



Occurrence: 3, IN FLIGHT COLLISION WITH OBJECT

Phase of Operation: EMERGENCY LANDING AFTER TAKEOFF



Sequence of Events for Occurrence Number: 3

1 (Finding) OBJECT / WIRE,TRANSMISSION / (0)


 

 

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