Piper PA 24-180 accident near Ketchikan, AK
On July 11, 2019, a Piper PA 24-180 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Ketchikan, AK. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- July 11, 2019
- Place
- Ketchikan, AK
- Aircraft
- Piper PA 24-180 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 55.301°N, 131.652°W
- NTSB ID
- 20190711X23056
Official records · ANC19FA033
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- Air Traffic Control Ktn Radio Transcript: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn July 11, 2019, about 1419 Alaska daylight time, a Piper PA-24-180 airplane, N5840P, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident near Ketchikan, Alaska. The airline transport pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 personal flight. The pilot departed Friday Harbor Airport (FHR), Friday Harbor, Washington, about 1010 and was destined for Wrangell Airport (WRG), Wrangell, Alaska. The pilot flew this route often and intended to stop at Ketchikan International Airport (KTN) to purchase fuel before continuing on to WRG. On the morning of the flight, the pilot told his spouse that the forecast weather for KTN was, "not so good," and he intended to fly around KTN and continue to WRG if the weather did not improve. GPS data revealed that the airplane flew a direct route to the KTN terminal area. According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Ketchikan Flight Service Station (FSS) radio transmissions, about 1412, the pilot called KTN FSS 10 miles southeast of KTN with the current weather information for runway 11. About 5 minutes later, the flight crew of an inbound Boeing 737 contacted KTN FSS with intentions to enter a left downwind for KTN runway 11. The accident pilot then reported that he "was hung up" and could not enter a right downwind but would wait for traffic to clear prior to entering a left downwind. There were no further communications from the pilot. Immediately after the pilot’s last radio transmission, the airplane turned left from a heading of about 320°
Probable cause
The pilot’s decision to continue visual flight rules into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in spatial disorientation and a loss of control.
More accidents in AK
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Browse: Alaska · Piper 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.
