Maule M-5-180C accident near Arctic Village, AK
On August 14, 2007, a Maule M-5-180C (airplane) was involved in an accident near Arctic Village, AK. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- August 14, 2007
- Place
- Arctic Village, AK
- Aircraft
- Maule M-5-180C · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 68.760°N, 145.335°W
- NTSB ID
- 20070823X01234
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On August 13, 2007, about 1615 Alaska daylight time, a tailwheel-equipped Maule M-5-180C airplane, N5660F, was destroyed by impact with terrain and a postcrash fire, following an in-flight loss of control and descent, about 36 miles north of Arctic Village, Alaska. The airplane was being operated by the pilot as a visual flight rules (VFR) personal local flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. The airline transport certificated pilot and sole passenger received fatal injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The airplane departed a remote gravel airstrip about 1600. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) on August 21, a friend of the pilot said the pilot departed Gustavus, Alaska, on August 9, for Fairbanks, Alaska. He said the pilot was accompanied by a mutual friend, and the pilot's son. He said that they arrived on the afternoon of August 11, at a remote gravel airstrip north of Arctic Village, in the Brooks mountain range to hunt sheep . He said that the pilot's son told him that after two days of hunting, and not seeing any sheep, the pilot and passenger decided to scout the area with the airplane, stating that they would return in about 30 minutes. According to search officials, on August 13, the pilot's son flagged down a passing airplane, and reported his father's missing airplane. Searchers located the airplane wreckage, about 4,000 feet elevation, on a steep slope in a canyon 3-4 miles from the hunting camp.
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain sufficient airspeed to avoid a stall/spin while maneuvering.
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Browse: Alaska · Maule 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.
