History of Flight
On July 24, 2011, about 0645 Alaska daylight time, a Cessna 182P airplane, N7304S, impacted mountainous terrain approximately 6 miles southeast of the Juneau International Airport, Juneau, Alaska. The commercial pilot and sole passenger sustained fatal injuries, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The flight was being operated as a 14 CFR Part 91 visual flight rules (VFR) cross-country personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the departure point. The flight departed Hoonah Airport, Hoonah, Alaska, about 0629, en route to Juneau International Airport. At the time of the accident, marginal visual meteorological conditions were reported at the Juneau Airport. Weather conditions at the accident site are not known, but witnesses in Juneau reported that conditions to the southeast, in the direction of the accident site, were much worse than at the airport. No flight plan was filed, and there is no record of a weather briefing.
The area between Hoonah and Juneau consists of remote inland fjords, coastal waterways, and steep mountainous terrain.
According to a Juneau air traffic control tower (ATCT) specialist on duty, the pilot contacted the ATCT about 0643, reporting that he was about 10 miles southwest of the airport for landing. The specialist instructed the pilot to report 4 miles southwest. Moments later, a faint emergency locator transmitter (ELT) signal was heard on 121.5 MHz by the Juneau ATCT specialist and personnel at the Juneau Flight Service Station. No further radio contact was received.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an alert notice (ALNOT) at 0757 Alaska daylight time.
Continuous poor weather prevented search crews from locating the airplane until the next day. The fragmented wreckage was in an area of steep mountainous terrain.
Personnel Information
The pilot, age 77, held a commercial pilot certificate with airplane single engine land and instrument airplane ratings. His most recent third-class medical certificate was issued February 5, 2010, with a limitation requiring corrective lenses. No personal flight records were located; aeronautical experience was obtained from FAA records. On his February 5, 2010 medical certificate application, he indicated total aeronautical experience of 8,300 flight hours, with 40 hours logged in the previous 6 months.
Aircraft Information
The airplane had a total time in service of 6,448.7 flight hours. The most recent annual inspection of airframe and engine was on May 26, 2011, about 7.9 flight hours before the accident. The airplane was equipped with a Teledyne Continental Motors O-470-S engine, rated at 230 horsepower, which was overhauled about 332.0 hours before the accident.
Meteorological Information
The closest weather reporting facility was Juneau International Airport, 5 miles north-northwest of the accident site. About 10 minutes before the accident, at 0635, a weather observation from Juneau Airport reported: wind 090 degrees true at 8 knots; visibility 5 statute miles with light rain and mist; clouds broken at 2,800 feet, overcast at 3,600 feet; temperature 55°F; dew point 55°F; altimeter 29.89 inHg. The next closest official station was Hoonah, the departure airport, about 31 miles south-southwest. About 24 minutes before departure, an Aviation Routine Weather Report (METAR) reported: wind calm; visibility 10 statute miles; clouds overcast at 3,500 feet; temperature 57°F; dew point 55°F; altimeter 29.89 inHg.
Wreckage and Impact Information
On July 25, two NTSB investigators and two FAA aviation safety inspectors examined the wreckage at the accident site, but high winds, rain, and low ceilings limited their time on scene. All major components were found at the main wreckage site, located in steep, mountainous, tundra and rock-covered terrain at an elevation of about 3,100 feet msl. The main debris path was on a 035-degree magnetic heading, downhill. An area believed to be the initial impact point, about 130 feet above the main wreckage, was marked by broken shrubs and disrupted tundra atop a rock knoll. The left aileron and left wingtip fairing were found there. After initial impact, the fragmented wreckage continued down the backside of the rock knoll, coming to rest on a narrow mountainous outcropping surrounded by vertical rock cliffs on three sides. The engine, propeller, and nose landing gear were torn from the firewall and fell about 800 to 1,000 feet into the valley floor.
Scattered downslope between the initial impact point and the main wreckage were small portions of debris, paint chips, broken Plexiglas, and personal effects.
The left wing was atop the main wreckage with extensive spanwise leading edge aft crushing and bending. The flap remained attached. The right wing remained attached to the fuselage but had extensive spanwise leading edge aft crushing. Flight control surfaces remained attached except the right aileron inboard hinge, which was torn free. The empennage was severed behind the aft passenger seats, but all flight control surfaces remained attached. Due to extensive impact damage, continuity of flight control cables could not be established. No preaccident mechanical problems were discovered during the on-scene wreckage examination.
Continuous poor weather prevented recovery crews from reaching the site until July 30, 2011. After recovery, the wreckage was taken to the Juneau airport.
On August 11, 2011, an FAA airworthiness inspector examined the engine, propeller, and nose landing gear assembly. The propeller bolts remained attached to the crankshaft flange, but the crankshaft was fractured just aft of the flange. Both propeller blades were loose in the hub but remained attached; they had extensive leading edge gouges, torsional "S" twisting, and chordwise scratching. The engine sustained significant impact damage, but no preaccident anomalies were found.
Medical and Pathological Information
A postmortem examination under the authority of the Alaska State Medical Examiner on August 1, 2011, attributed the pilot's cause of death to blunt force traumatic injuries. The FAA's Civil Aeromedical Institute performed toxicological examinations on November 21, 2011, which were negative for alcohol but revealed unspecified levels of Tamsulosin (Flomax), a prescription medication for enlarged prostate, in the pilot's blood and urine.
Search and Rescue
After notification of an overdue airplane and reports of an ELT signal along the anticipated flight route, search and rescue personnel from Juneau Mountain Rescue, U.S. Coast Guard, and Alaska State Troopers began an extensive ground and airborne search. Rescue personnel tracked an ELT signal to an area of mountainous terrain, but poor weather prevented a U.S. Coast Guard HH-60 helicopter from searching upper levels. About 1700, ground search personnel from Juneau Mountain Rescue discovered the airplane's engine, propeller, and various fragmented portions of wreckage at the base of a 900-foot-high rock wall, but could not locate the fuselage or occupants. On July 25, about 1200, members of Juneau Mountain Rescue, along with two NTSB investigators, three FAA safety inspectors, and an Alaska State Trooper, found the main wreckage at the 3,100-foot level of north Douglas Island and confirmed that the occupants had sustained fatal injuries.
Tests and Research
The pilot was using two personal Garmin GPS receivers, a GPSMAP 195 and a GPSMAP 495, both recovered and sent to the NTSB's Vehicle Recorder Division. Several minutes of stored GPS position data were retrieved, and a Senior NTSB Electronic Engineer reconstructed the entire route of flight. The combined GPS data logs for July 24, 2011, showed that at 0628 the airplane departed Hoonah Airport, turned north-northeast toward Juneau, and gradually climbed to a maximum GNSS altitude of 3,619 feet. The airplane continued north-northeast over water, momentarily deviated north to climb over Robert Baron Peak, then descended slightly while continuing towards Juneau over Stephens Channel. As the airplane passed over the southwest shoreline of Douglas Island, it began a gradual climb, and GPS-derived groundspeed decreased slightly as it approached steep, mountainous terrain. The final GPS position was recorded at 0645:34 ADT, placing the airplane near the accident site. The last GPS-derived groundspeed and direction of travel was 47 mph on a 067-degree true course. Terrain elevation near the crash site is about 3,900 feet msl, and the wreckage was found at 3,100 feet msl.
According to the NTSB Electronic Engineer, the Garmin GPSMAP 495 had a preselected flight route for a flight between Hoonah and the Juneau Harbor Seaplane Base (about 6 miles east-southeast of Juneau International Airport) and back. The accident site is along a straight-line flight path between Hoonah Airport and the Juneau Harbor Seaplane Base, which required crossing higher terrain, whereas a route to Juneau International Airport would have been over water.
Additional information from a family friend indicated the pilot and his wife were moving from Anchorage to Hoonah. They flew from Anchorage to Juneau on July 23, and the wife planned to return to Anchorage that same day. The accident airplane arrived in Juneau about 1940 on an IFR flight plan. The wife had a reservation on Alaska Airlines Flight 67 departing at 1945, but the flight departed as the accident airplane arrived; she was rebooked on Alaska Airlines Flight 73 departing at 0728 the next morning. The fuel vendor at Juneau International Airport reported that the pilot purchased 58.1 gallons of 100LL fuel and mentioned he would fly to Hoonah for the night and return early the next morning so his wife could catch the first flight back. The accident occurred at 0645, 43 minutes before Alaska Airlines Flight 73 was scheduled to depart.