History of Flight
On July 11, 2022, at approximately 1730 Alaska daylight time, a Champion 7EC airplane, registered as N4340C, was destroyed in an accident about 20 miles northeast of Valdez, Alaska. The student pilot, who was the sole occupant, sustained fatal injuries. The flight was operated under 14 CFR Part 91 as a personal flight. The pilot had departed from Valdez Pioneer Field Airport (VDZ) and was returning to a private airstrip in Sutton, Alaska. When the pilot failed to arrive, family and friends reported the airplane overdue. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an alert notice at 2246. Search efforts involved the Civil Air Patrol, Alaska State Troopers, Alaska Air National Guard, U.S. Coast Guard, and volunteers. Due to poor weather along the anticipated route and the absence of an emergency locator transmitter (ELT) signal, the wreckage was not located until July 14 in an area known as Thompson Pass, at an elevation of about 2,560 feet mean sea level. Multiple witnesses reported seeing the airplane flying just above the trees in very poor weather conditions.
Pilot Information
The student pilot held a solo cross-country endorsement dated March 21, 2022, with limitations including a 2,500-foot cloud ceiling, 10 knots of wind, and 5 statute miles visibility. This endorsement expired on June 29, 2022. According to the pilot’s flight instructor, no flight planning training for a flight to Valdez was provided, and the pilot did not have a cross-country solo endorsement for that destination. The instructor had not given the pilot any instruction in flight by reference to instruments because the airplane was not equipped for instrument flight.
Meteorological Information
An AIRMET Sierra advisory was issued at 1206, forecasting mountain obscuration due to clouds and precipitation for the accident area at the time of the accident. The Area Forecast, issued at 1204, predicted few clouds at 600 feet above ground level (AGL) with broken clouds at 3,000 feet AGL. After 1600, the Terminal Aerodrome Forecast (TAF) for Valdez Pioneer Field Airport (VDZ) expected variable wind at 3 knots, 3 miles visibility, light rain, mist, few clouds at 800 feet AGL, a broken ceiling at 1,500 feet AGL, overcast clouds at 8,000 feet AGL, with cloud tops at 18,000 feet, and occasional light rain. The accident pilot did not request or receive weather information from FAA Flight Services or ForeFlight. Archived ForeFlight data showed several route string combinations retrieved before the flight, but it is unknown what additional weather information the pilot may have viewed. An FAA weather camera near the accident site displayed near-zero visibility and a cloud layer near the surface.
Wreckage and Impact
The airplane impacted tundra and rock-covered terrain in a near-vertical attitude. Flight control continuity was confirmed from the cockpit to all flight control surfaces. The right aileron cable was separated near the upper pulley in the cockpit, consistent with tension overload. The fuselage exhibited numerous broken frame tubes consistent with impact damage and was detached from the wings at the wing attachment points and the firewall. The fuselage came to rest inverted with the tail oriented 90 degrees to the right of the direction of travel. Both wings sustained leading edge impact damage. Both propeller blades were curled back toward the spinner with rotational scratches and scoring along the cambered side. Evidence of fuel blight and a strong fuel odor were present at the scene. The exhaust, induction, and fuel systems were crushed from impact. Both magnetos remained attached to the engine with no damage.
Medical and Pathological Information
Toxicology testing indicated that the pilot had used cannabis at some time before the accident; however, neither the primary psychoactive compound, THC, nor its short-lived psychoactive metabolite, 11-hydroxy-delta-9-THC, were detected in his blood or urine. The non-psychoactive metabolite, THC-COOH, was detected at very low levels in both blood and urine.