History of Flight
On November 10, 2022, at about 1140 Alaska standard time, a Piper PA-18 (registration N7123K) was substantially damaged in an accident near Chickaloon, Alaska. The student pilot sustained fatal injuries. The flight was conducted as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
According to a friend of the pilot, the accident pilot departed Wolf Lake Airport (4AK6) in Palmer, Alaska, about 1100, flying in formation with another friend in a Cessna 172. The Cessna pilot reported flying just above and behind the Piper. He observed the Piper descend and fly at low altitude along the Matanuska River, then strike an unmarked cable suspended across the river approximately 30 ft above the water. The airplane came to rest inverted in the river. The Cessna pilot landed and notified the Alaska State Troopers. The cable was not new and lacked any marking system.
Personnel and Aircraft Information
The pilot's logbooks were not located. The aircraft's maintenance logbooks were also not recovered.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The airplane was recovered from the river for examination. The wings had separated from the fuselage due to impact; the fuselage remained intact but was impact-damaged. A portion of the cable remained wrapped around the right wing. The engine stayed attached to the airframe. The propeller blades were still attached to the engine crankshaft flanges, with gouges along the leading edge of one blade consistent with cable impact. The windscreen v-bar tubing was sheared near the lower attachment point.
The left side of the empennage was undamaged, while the right side showed impact damage to the right horizontal stabilizer. The rudder and elevator control cables remained attached, and the rudder exhibited minor impact damage.
Additional Information
The owner of the property where the airplane came to rest stated that the cable was installed in the late 1940s and was the only means of reaching land and houses on the opposite side of the river. The cable was unmarked and suspended about 30 ft above the river.
An FAA inspector noted that the cable had been charted in a caution box on the FAA VFR Sectional Chart, but the caution was removed from the chart in 2019. It was readded to the charts in February 2023.
Medical and Pathological Information
An autopsy performed by the Alaska State Medical Examiner's Office determined the pilot's cause of death as blunt force injuries, with the manner of death being accident. The autopsy also identified mild to moderate coronary artery disease, with 50% narrowing of the left anterior descending coronary artery and 30% narrowing of the left circumflex coronary artery. No other significant natural disease was found.
Postmortem toxicological testing of heart blood detected delta-9-THC at 5.2 ng/mL. Testing by the FAA Forensic Sciences Laboratory identified carboxy-delta-9-THC at 2 ng/mL in blood and 3.9 ng/mL in urine. Delta-9-THC is the primary psychoactive chemical in cannabis; its effects may impair motor coordination, reaction time, decision making, problem solving, and vigilance. However, instantaneous blood concentration does not directly predict impairment. Carboxy-delta-9-THC is a non-psychoactive metabolite. The FAA considers delta-9-THC unsuitable for flying.