Cessna 401 accident near Gustavus, AK
On July 14, 2003, a Cessna 401 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Gustavus, AK. 4 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- July 14, 2003
- Place
- Gustavus, AK
- Aircraft
- Cessna 401 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 4 fatal, 0 serious, 1 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 58.431°N, 135.713°W
- NTSB ID
- 20030723X01177
Official records · ANC03LA076
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- Canadian Air Traffic Control Summary: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
- U. S. Air Traffic Control Transcripts: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov
- ATC Radar Plot: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
On July 13, 2003, about 2135 Alaska daylight time, a wheel-equipped Cessna 401 airplane, N6296Q, was destroyed during an emergency landing and ditching in open ocean waters, about 12 miles southeast of the flight's planned destination of Gustavus, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as an instrument flight rules (IFR) cross-country personal flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. Of the six people on board, the certificated commercial pilot and three passengers have not been located and are presumed to have received fatal injuries. One of the two surviving passengers sustained minor injuries, and the other surviving passenger sustained no injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at Gustavus, and an IFR flight plan was filed. The flight originated at the William R. Fairchild International Airport, Port Angeles, Washington, about 1815 Pacific daylight time (1715 Alaska daylight time). During a telephone conversation with a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator from the Seattle Northwest Regional Office on July 15, the fuel truck driver who serviced the accident airplane in Port Angeles, said that prior to the airplane's departure he added 102.9 gallons of fuel to the airplane's fuel tanks. He said that when the airplane departed for Ketchikan, the pilot's next planned fuel stop before continuing on to Gustavus, the "airplane's fuel tanks were full." A review of the accident airplane's flight plan revealed that prior to departing Port Angeles, the pilot filed an IFR flight plan to Ketchikan, Alaska. The purpose of the
Probable cause
The pilot's inadequate in-flight decision making process, and failure to refuel the airplane prior to fuel exhaustion, which resulted in a total loss of engine power. A factor associated with the accident was the lack of a suitable forced landing site.
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Browse: Alaska · Cessna aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
