Cessna 180 accident near Seward, AK
On January 2, 2006, a Cessna 180 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Seward, AK. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- January 2, 2006
- Place
- Seward, AK
- Aircraft
- Cessna 180 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 1 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 60.155°N, 149.216°W
- NTSB ID
- 20060106X00016
NTSB summary
On January 2, 2006, about 1100 Alaska standard time, a wheel-equipped Cessna 180 airplane, N212RF, sustained substantial damage when it collided with terrain during maneuvering flight, about 7 miles east of Seward, Alaska. The airplane was being operated by the pilot as a visual flight rules (VFR) personal cross-country flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. The airline transport pilot received serious injuries, and the sole passenger received fatal injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight departed the Quartz Creek airstrip, Cooper Landing, Alaska, about 1030. A U.S. Coast Guard C-130 airplane from Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak, was flying in the area of the accident, and received an emergency signal from the accident airplane's emergency locator transmitter (ELT), about 1205. The Coast Guard airplane located the accident airplane on the Godwin Glacier, and relayed its location to the Rescue Coordination Center (RCC) in Anchorage, Alaska. A helicopter from the Alaska, Air National Guard, 210th Rescue Squadron, was dispatched to the scene, but was unable to reach the site due to clouds obscuring the accident site. After aborting several attempts to reach the site due to weather on the glacier, the helicopter made it to the site about 2000. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) on January 4, the Air National Guard para-rescue technician who made initial contact with the pilot, said the pilot told him he had been flying up
Probable cause
The pilot's inadequate weather evaluation, which resulted in an in-flight encounter with low ceilings, turbulence, and downdrafts in cruise flight, and the pilot's failure to maintain altitude/clearance while maneuvering, which resulted in an in-flight collision with terrain. Factors associated with the accident were low ceilings, turbulence, and downdrafts.
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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.
