NTSB Factual Report

On August 7, 2003, about 1300 Alaska daylight time, a float-equipped Aviat A-1A airplane, N113N, sustained substantial damage when it collided with the shoreline while attempting to takeoff from a remote lake, located about 47 miles south of Sitka, Alaska. The solo commercial pilot was not injured. The Title 14, CFR Part 91 business flight was operated by the pilot in support of his hunt guiding business. The flight operated in visual meteorological conditions without a flight plan, and was en route to board a passenger at another lake, and then return to Sitka.

During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) on August 11, the pilot related that he was attempting to takeoff from a small lake with a deer that his hunting client had shot. He said he determined that the airplane would not become airborne before reaching the approaching shoreline due to the calm wind conditions, and he elected to abort the takeoff. He reported that he was unable to stop the airplane prior to reaching the shore, and the floats, float fittings, and one fiberglass wingtip were damaged. He said he was unaware of any additional damage.

In a written statement dated August 14, submitted to the FAA and NTSB, the pilot wrote, in part: "As I told you in person, I was deer hunting, and had landed in a much smaller and cauldron like lake in order to haul out the deer. The approximate elevation is 1,500 feet and it was very hot/and mostly still air. I performed a step turn and didn't like the way it felt so I cut the power and skidded up on a rocky beach. My left rear float attach point failed allowing the airplane to make ground contact with the left ("replaceable") droop wing tip."

On August 28, the IIC received a telephone call from a Juneau Flight Standards District Office Federal Aviation Administration aviation safety inspector. The inspector said he had examined photographs of the accident airplane, and discovered structural damage to the fuselage adjacent to the right float attachment fitting. He said that the lower right longeron was bent, as well as some adjacent structural tubing that would require a major repair. The photographs were forwarded to the NTSB IIC for review. The photographs depicted structural damage to the lower right fuselage longeron at the right rear float attachment fitting, and damage to the left wingtip.

On November 12, the IIC contacted a representative of the repair facility in Anchorage, Alaska, that repaired the accident airplane. The representative noted that the repairs consisted of replacing the left wing's outboard rib, and a section of damaged lower longeron where the right rear float attachment had separated.

The accident pilot telephoned the IIC on November 12. He noted that during the takeoff attempt, he heard a loud "pop" and felt the airplane shudder. He said he immediately pulled the engine power to idle, and because he was in a tight step-turn at that time, he immediately lost control of the airplane when the power was reduced. The airplane struck the shoreline before he could stop it or regain control. The pilot indicated that it was possible that the right rear float attachment fitting may have broken before he hit the shore, and that was the "pop" he heard. He also said that the loud noise could have been associated with a preimpact separation of the right float "flying wire" cable that runs between the float and fuselage.

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot's delay in aborting the takeoff, which resulted in a collision with the shoreline during an aborted takeoff.