What happened
On September 13, 2024, at approximately 0803 Alaska daylight time, a Champion 7GCBC, registration N8CK, crashed near Ninilchik, Alaska, resulting in 2 fatal injuries.
The flight departed from Lowell Field Airport (00AK) in Happy Valley, Alaska, at approximately 0700 for the purpose of moose spotting. A witness observed the aircraft flying at an altitude between 100 and 200 feet above ground level, following an off-roading trail, before circling a group of four moose in an open field.
At 0803, the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center received an emergency locator transmitter (ELT) signal from a location southwest of Tustumena Lake. Following confirmation of a downed aircraft by an aerial reconnaissance flight, search and rescue personnel were dispatched to the site.
The aircraft came to rest in a hilly, sparsely forested, and tundra-covered area approximately seven miles southwest of Tustumena Lake. The wreckage showed evidence of a high angle, nose-down impact.
The investigation
Investigators found all major structures and components of the aircraft at the accident site. The engine was partially buried in the soft terrain, with only the top deck visible. The aft section of the fuselage protruded from the impact point at an angle of approximately 50 degrees, with the empennage suspended 12 feet above the ground. Damage was noted on the outboard section of the right wing and the inboard, forward section of the left wing. The investigation found no preimpact anomalies in the flight control system.