Accident Overview
On August 21, about 0910 Alaska daylight time, a Grumman G-44 amphibious airplane, registration N139F, sustained substantial damage during a runway excursion and collision with terrain while landing at Dillingham Airport in Dillingham, Alaska. The aircraft was operated by Fresh Water Adventures as a visual flight rules (VFR) passenger flight under 14 CFR Part 135. The commercial pilot and three passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a VFR flight plan was in effect. The flight had departed Nerka Lake, Alaska, about 0850 bound for Dillingham.
Pilot and Witness Accounts
During a telephone conversation with the NTSB investigator-in-charge on August 21, the Dillingham airport manager stated that when the airplane touched down, it immediately veered off the runway to the left and collided with terrain. He reported that the pilot told him the left brake locked up, causing a loss of directional control. In a written statement dated August 22, the pilot explained that he was unaware that the left wheel brake system had picked up a rock while departing from a beach at Nerka Lake, which resulted in the left brake locking up on landing.
Examination Findings
The airplane received substantial damage to the left wing and the left aileron. In a written statement dated August 28, an FAA air safety inspector who had examined the airplane at the accident site confirmed that a small rock was found lodged in the left brake assembly.