What happened
During the final leg of a scheduled commuter service, an aircraft was performing a visual flight rules (VFR) approach to Merrill Field in Anchorage, Alaska. While executing a base turn, the plane entered a near-vertical attitude and struck the ground upside-down in a densely forested region. The impact resulted in two fatalities, involving both the pilot and the single passenger on board.
Prior to this specific flight, the co-pilot had already disembarked. This crew member noted that there was no observation of the captain utilizing the aircraft's auxiliary fuel tanks during earlier flights that evening. While the main fuel tanks contained 100 gallons of usable fuel, calculations suggested the flight had likely consumed more than that amount by the time of the accident.
Findings
The investigation determined that the primary cause of the engine failure was fuel starvation. Although sufficient fuel remained in the auxiliary tanks, the pilot failed to switch to them before the engine ceased operation. Because an engine restart is difficult to achieve once the main tanks are depleted without prior selection of the auxiliary supply, the aircraft lost all power.
Additional contributing factors included:
- Inadequate in-flight planning and decision-making by the pilot in command.
- Failure to maintain appropriate airspeed (Vmc) during the emergency.
- Loss of directional control during the descent.
- Pilot inattention regarding fuel management.