Cessna 172 accident near Skwentna, AK
On March 7, 2019, a Cessna 172 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Skwentna, AK. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- March 7, 2019
- Place
- Skwentna, AK
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 62.110°N, 152.168°W
- NTSB ID
- 20190324X95558
Official records · ANC19FA038
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTHISTORY OF FLIGHT On March 6, 2019, about 1730 Alaska standard time, a Cessna 172 airplane, N7469A, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident near Skwentna, Alaska. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. A friend of the pilot, who was hunting near Farewell, Alaska, stated that the pilot flew from Wasilla Airport (IYS), Wasilla, Alaska, to Submarine Lake to pick up bison meat and fly it back to IYS. The route was about 150 nautical miles (nm) through an area of remote mountainous, snow-covered terrain. The airplane arrived at the frozen Submarine Lake about 1600 and the pilot told his friend that he was delayed due to clouds near Skwentna and had difficulty navigating without his GPS. He also said that the weather was good for the remainder of the route. The pilot and his friend loaded the airplane with about 420 lbs of bison meat, and the pilot added 5 gallons of fuel into the airplane's fuel tanks, which according to the pilot was 2.5 hours of fuel onboard. The friend stated that the weather deteriorated while they were loading the airplane, with occasional light snow and reduced visibility, but the mountains were visible. Before he departed, the pilot agreed to send a text message to his friend's Garmin inReach satellite communication device when he arrived at IYS. The airplane departed to the east. Later that evening, the friend noted that no text was received from the pilot and he contacted a friend who filed an overdue airplane report with flight
Probable cause
The pilot’s decision to depart into marginal visual flight rule conditions in mountainous terrain with the potential for icing, and the airplane’s accumulation of structural icing, which resulted in the pilot’s inability to maintain airplane control and the subsequent aerodynamic stall and spin into terrain.
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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.
