History of Flight
On June 26, 2011, about 1600 Alaska daylight time, a tailwheel-equipped Cessna 150M, registration N66286, sustained substantial damage after impacting terrain near Beluga Lake, Alaska. The certificated private pilot was fatally injured, and the sole passenger was seriously injured. The airplane was registered to the pilot and operated under 14 CFR Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions were forecast, and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated from Lake Hood Strip Airport, Anchorage, Alaska, about 1353.
According to family members, the pilot was taking a visitor on a sightseeing flight to a glacier west of Anchorage. The pilot carried a SPOT satellite messenger that relayed periodic location updates to a website. The pilot's wife noticed the SPOT location had not changed for several hours and notified authorities. At 0100 the next morning, a search and rescue crew located the airplane on a moraine east of the glacier.
In a telephone interview with the NTSB investigator-in-charge two months after the accident, the passenger reported the intent was to sightsee near Beluga Lake/Triumvirate Glacier. He assisted with a thorough preflight and walk-around. He recalled departing Anchorage with good weather and normal flight. They landed twice east of the glacier without incident and agreed not to fly too close due to uncertain weather and wind. The passenger thought they were taking off to the east but could not be certain due to injuries. The last thing he remembered was the airplane airborne about 200 feet off the ground.
Personnel Information
The pilot, age 45, held a private pilot certificate with airplane single-engine land rating issued October 3, 1988. His most recent third-class medical certificate was issued January 24, 2011, with no limitations. No personal flight records were located; FAA records indicated total aeronautical experience about 800 hours, with 32 hours in the previous 6 months.
Medical and Pathological Information
A postmortem examination on June 27, 2011, attributed the pilot's cause of death to multiple blunt force injuries. Toxicological examination by the FAA's Civil Aeromedical Institute on September 19, 2011, was negative for alcohol or drugs.
Aircraft Information
The airplane was equipped with a Lycoming O-320-E2D engine rated at 150 horsepower, installed on May 15, 2002, with 402.6 service hours at the time of the accident. The engine had a two-blade McCauley propeller. The airframe had 4,228.9 service hours; the last annual inspection was on June 11, 2011, at 4,222.6 hours. The airplane was converted to tailwheel landing gear in 1985 and equipped with a Horton Short Takeoff and Landing (STOL) kit.
Meteorological Information
The nearest weather reporting station was Anchorage International Airport (PANC), 54 nautical miles east. At 1553, PANC reported: wind 160 degrees true at 12 knots gusting 21 knots; few clouds at 3,000 feet; scattered clouds at 5,500 feet; overcast at 8,000 feet. The area forecast for Cook Inlet, valid until 1700, called for visual meteorological conditions with isolated rain showers.
Wreckage and Impact Information
Examination at the accident site on June 27 revealed the airplane impacted sandy, rock-covered terrain at the base of an east-west berm parallel to a large moraine used as a landing surface. The main wreckage, including all major components, was about 45 feet from the initial impact ground scar. Ground signatures were consistent with a right wing down attitude. Fragments of the right navigation light green lens were found. A second impact crater about 20 feet from the initial point matched propeller and fuselage impact. The main wreckage came to rest on a westerly heading, 180 degrees from the direction of travel.
The right wing was displaced upward and aft with extensive spanwise leading edge crushing. The left wing had leading edge crushing and was bent upward and aft about 3 feet from the wingtip. An unmeasured amount of fuel was in the left wing fuel tank; the right tank was compromised and empty. The fuel selector was in the on position.
The empennage separated from the fuselage at a rivet line just behind the cockpit but remained connected to flight control cables, canted about 120 degrees left. Vertical and horizontal stabilizers were relatively undamaged.
The cockpit area was extensively damaged. The engine and firewall were displaced upward and aft; the instrument panel was displaced upward almost to the windscreen top. The throttle and mixture were full forward, carburetor heat off, master switch on, ignition switch in the both position.
The engine remained attached to its mounts with impact damage to the front case, underside, and right forward side. Exhaust tubes had malleable bending with sharp creases that were not cracked. On-site inspection revealed no mechanical anomalies preventing normal engine operation. The propeller assembly remained attached; one blade had chordwise scratching and aft bending; the other had S-bending, torsional twisting, and chordwise scratching.
Due to impact damage, flight controls could not be moved by their respective controls, but cable continuity was established to the cockpit area.
Additional Information
No parts or components were retained by the Safety Board.