Accident Overview
On July 12, 2010, at 1500 Alaska daylight time, a Cessna 172N, registration N6594D, collided with terrain approximately 34 miles southeast of Palmer, Alaska. The aircraft was operated by the Elmendorf Air Club under 14 CFR Part 91 and rented to a private pilot. The pilot and two passengers were not injured; the airplane sustained substantial damage. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a visual flight plan had been filed. The flight originated from Elmendorf Air Force Base at 1410.
Pilot Account
The pilot reported to the Safety Board investigator that he had previously flown over the Knik Glacier while solo, but this was his first crossing with passengers. He approached the glacier at 1,500 feet mean sea level (msl) and maneuvered into a climb. Noticing degraded aircraft performance compared to his earlier crossing, he attributed it to the additional weight of the two passengers, yet believed the climb would be successful. At approximately 8,000 feet msl, he realized he was much closer to the glacier than expected and decided to abort the crossing. He initiated a right turn, but the airplane was too low and too slow; it began to stall. The right wing tip struck the snow, followed by the left wing tip, then the airplane nosed over and came to rest inverted. The occupants egressed from the inverted aircraft and were rescued about one hour later.
Mechanical Status
The pilot stated that the airplane and engine experienced no mechanical failures or malfunctions during the flight.