FLIGHT FINDINGSAVIATION OCCURRENCE MAP
Back to map

ANC83FA126 · Helio H395

19 Jul 1983 · Fairbanks, AK, United States

Helio H395 · Accident: in flight collision with object during initial climb

Report a problem

Event

NTSB case
ANC83FA126
Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
Accident
InvestigationHow far the investigation had got when the record was published: preliminary, ongoing, final or completed. Unknown where the source does not say. Glossary
Completed
API-reported fatalities
1 · all aircraft and ground
Ground fatalities
0
OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
General aviation
WeatherVisual meteorological conditions (VMC): good enough to fly by looking outside. Instrument conditions (IMC): cloud or low visibility, flying by instruments. Glossary
Visual Meteorological Cond

Helio H395

Aircraft type
Helio H395
Category
Airplane
RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
N4156D
Operator
Unknown
Onboard fatalities
Unknown
Route
From not recordedTo not recorded
Aircraft age
Not recorded
Flight rulesThe regulations the flight operated under: in the US, Part 91 (general aviation), Part 121 (airlines), Part 135 (air taxi and commuter) and others; for flights abroad, the NTSB's coarser commercial or non-commercial code. Glossary
Part 91: General Aviation
Phase of flightThe stage of the flight when things started to go wrong: standing, taxi, takeoff, initial climb, en route, maneuvering, approach or landing. Glossary
Initial climb
First occurrenceThe single coded event the NTSB judges best describes what happened (records from 2008 on). Older records name the first occurrence in the sequence instead. Glossary
In flight collision with object
Also codedOther events the NTSB coded in the sequence, such as a wire strike after a loss of power. Flight Findings uses them for its kinds of event. Glossary
Tree(s)
DamageDestroyed: beyond practical repair. Substantial: damage that affects the structure, performance or handling and normally needs major repair. Minor: less than that. Glossary
Substantial

Cause areas

  • Pilot in command › Aircraft handling, uncontrolled
  • Pilot in command › Overconfidence in personal ability
  • Pilot in command › Unsuitable terrain or takeoff/landing/taxi area, selected

Approximate · Coordinates as recorded by the NTSB; no uncertainty radius is established.

NTSB narrative

TAKEOFF WAS FROM A DIRT DRIVEWAY WHICH HAD A USABLE LENGTH 0F 330 FT BEFORE IT CURVED NORTH. BEFORE TAKEOFF, THE PLT HADBENT SEVERAL SMALL TREES BACK AWAY FROM THE DRIVEWAY & TIED THEM DOWN SO THEY WOULD NOT INTERFERE WITH THE TAKEOFF. THERE ARE NUMEROUS TREES SURROUNDING THE AREA, WITH AN OPENING AT THE DEPARTURE END OF AOUT 40 FT WIDE. THE WINGSPAN OF THE ACFT WAS 38 FT 6 INCHES. AS THE PLT TRIED TO FLY THRUUGH THE OPENING, THE LEFT WING CONTACTED A TALL TREE & THE LEADING EDGE SLAT SEPARATED. THE ACFT ROLLED & CRASHED INVERTED ONTO A GUARD RAIL OF AN ADJACENT HIGHWAY. THE ACFT WAS EQUIPPED WITH AN AUTOMOBILE RESTRAINT SYSTEM. THE SHOULDER HARNESS ATTACHING BRACKET WAS LOCATED AT THE TOP OF THE BENCHSEAT. THE SHOULDER HARNESS STRAP CAME LOOSE FROM THAT ATTACHING POINT DURING THE CRASH SEQUENCE. THE ACFT HAD BEEN REPORTEDLY REBUILT BY THE PLT WHO IS NOT AN A&P. THERE WERE RIVETS MISSING IN THE VERTICAL STABILIZER, & WHERE HOLES DIDN'T MATCH UP, NEW ONES WERE DRILLED & SCREWED TOGETHER.

Verbatim NTSB analysis from the NTSB dataset

Sources

NTSB record ANC83FA126
Event ID
20001214X43557
Case number
ANC83FA126
Dataset
historical-pre2008
Source SHA-256
89e2df6d848e7ab3b42e7d7c7a03ff403303057a26ca04c95b3ea67201c3ce74
Source notes (4)
  • Unreviewed is an editorial label, not an investigation status. API-sourced is not report-checked or human-reviewed. Explicit event totals are used without summing aircraft injury tables; onboard allocation is withheld. Unknown values remain unknown. The operation category is mapped from the NTSB-reported FAR part and has not been reviewed.
  • Filled from the NTSB case API where the bulk record had no value: local date, investigation status. Values present in the bulk record are kept.
  • The date is the local date; the NTSB stores the UTC date 1983-07-20.
  • API snapshot SHA-256: 4f1f193555a3d521af5d7645d97b72f83cda3984a1946589e1aaf0df92a7352b; retrieved 2026-09-21T06:29:05.804Z.