Primary finding
Probable cause
Failure of the pilot to maintain proper alignment during the takeoff roll. Factors related to the accident were: darkness and the snow berm along the edge of the runway.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
The pilot-in-command reported that during the takeoff roll, the airplane's left main landing gear wheel collided with a snow berm, which resulted in the loss of directional control. The airplane then exited the runway and went onto tundra.
Source record
Factual narrative
On December 03, 1993, at approximately 1945 Alaska standard time, a wheel equipped Cessna 207 airplane, N36CF, operated by Yute Air Alaska, Inc., crashed during takeoff from runway 20 at Tuntutuliak, Alaska. The commercial certificated pilot-in- command, the sole occupant, was not injured and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The positioning flight was being conducted under 14 CFR Part 91 when the accident occurred. The intended destination was Bethel, Alaska. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a company VFR flight plan was in effect. In a telephone interview on the evening of December 03, 1993, the pilot-in-command told the NTSB investigator-in-charge that during the takeoff roll, the plane's left main landing gear wheel got too close to the east side edge of the runway and the snow pulled the airplane off the runway resulting in substantial damage to the left wing. The pilot said that he had accrued a total flight time of approximately 2460 hours of which about 125 hours were in the Cessna 207. -