On September 20, 1993, at 1100 Alaska daylight time, a float equipped Piper PA-18 airplane, N6721L, operated by Dahle Air Service, Inc. of Anchorage, Alaska, crashed during takeoff from an unnamed lake located 22 miles southeast of Pilot Point, Alaska. The commercial pilot and the one passenger were not injured. The airplane was substantially damaged. The business flight was operating under 14 CFR Part 91 at the time. Visual meteorological conditions existed, and a company VFR flight plan was filed. During a telephone interview with the pilot on September 22, 1993, he stated the following, in part: "I had just taken off and cleared the edge of the lake when the airplane just settled back down on the tundra. The winds were variable from the northwest to the southwest at about 15 gusting to 20 knots. I think I encountered a downdraft. When the airplane settled down on the floats, one float attaching point and the surrounding area of the fuselage was damaged."