Cessna 180 accident near Whittier, AK
On September 22, 2007, a Cessna 180 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Whittier, AK. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- September 22, 2007
- Place
- Whittier, AK
- Aircraft
- Cessna 180 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 1 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 60.636°N, 148.335°W
- NTSB ID
- 20070926X01452
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On September 22, 2007, about 1420 Alaska daylight time, a float-equipped Cessna 180 airplane, N46209, sustained substantial damage during takeoff from a remote lake when it impacted a tree and hilly terrain, about 15 miles southeast of Whittier, Alaska. The airplane was operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) personal flight under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91, when the accident occurred. The private pilot received fatal injuries, and the sole passenger sustained serious injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a VFR flight plan was filed. The flight originated at the Lake Hood Seaplane Base, Anchorage, Alaska, about 1015, with an anticipated return of 1700. During a conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) on September 23, a friend of the accident pilot who met the pilot and passenger at the lake in his own airplane, reported that he watched the accident airplane's takeoff from the shoreline of the remote lake. The friend reported that the accident airplane departed before him, and he saw its westerly takeoff run while sitting in his airplane, parked on the eastern shore of Lake Shrode. The friend said that as the airplane lifted off near the western shoreline, the airplane's nose appeared abnormally high. He said that as the airplane began to climb, "the wings began to wobble" then the airplane disappeared behind an area of hilly, tree-covered terrain at the west end of the lake. The friend said he thought the accident airplane had crashed, and he imme
Probable cause
The failure of the pilot's seat to engage, or remain engaged, and the pilot's inadvertent stall/mush during takeoff-initial climb. Contributing to the accident was the failure of maintenance personnel to comply with an FAA AD regarding the pilot's seat rails.
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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.
