Accident Overview
A commercial pilot and one passenger departed on a cross-country personal flight for hunting in an airplane equipped with tundra tires. Before departure, the pilot added fuel to both 19-gallon wing fuel tanks and filled three containers with 15 gallons of fuel. The fuel containers were placed in the rear cargo compartment along with a tent, rifles, ammunition, a cook stove, and other camping items. The pilot-rated passenger's most recent third-class medical certificate listed a weight of 245 lbs.
Incident and Wreckage
Following the accident, a passing pilot observed a plume of smoke and located the accident airplane nose down in the tundra, fully engulfed in fire. The wreckage came to rest in a near vertical attitude approximately one-quarter mile from a slightly elevated plateau to the northwest, commonly used as a landing site by pilots with tundra-tire equipped airplanes.
Investigation Findings
Postaccident investigation determined that the estimated gross weight of the airplane at takeoff was 1,912 pounds, which exceeded the airplane's maximum takeoff gross weight by 162 pounds. Due to extensive fire damage, the airplane's weight and center of gravity at the time of the accident could not be determined. Examination of the airplane revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical anomalies.