ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 178406
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| Date: | Thursday 6 August 2015 |
| Time: | 23:50 |
| Type: |  Piper PA-18-150 Super Cub |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N3675P |
| MSN: | 18-4574 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1955 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 4473 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming O-320 SERIES |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Cook Inlet west of Birchwood Airport (PABV), Birchwood, AK -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Mcgrath, AK (MCG) |
| Birchwood, AK (BCV) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The private pilot and his sole passenger were on a personal cross-country flight between two Alaskan communities. The destination airport was located along the shores of an inlet waterway, and the airplane's intended approach would have been over the water. About 3 hours after the flight departed, the pilot issued a distress call, which was received by state law enforcement. The pilot stated that the airplane had crashed in the water, and he requested immediate rescue, adding that he was too far from shore to swim. The airplane was located the next morning about 1.8 miles from the destination airport almost completely submerged in water. When the airplane was recovered, neither of the occupants were inside. About 2 weeks later, the passenger’s body was recovered. The pilot’s body was not recovered.
Recovered GPS data revealed that, during the last 10 minutes of the flight, the airplane climbed to a peak altitude of 1,549 ft mean sea level (msl) while traveling a distance of about 6 nautical miles (nm) and then began a descent that averaged about 176 ft per minute (fpm). About 3 nm from the destination airport, the airplane’s descent rate increased to an average of about 890 fpm, and the airplane then entered a slight right, southerly turn toward the nearest point of land. The last data point showed the airplane at 29 ft msl and less than 1 mile from the closest point of land.
A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. An aviation weather reporting station located 2 miles southeast of the accident site reported weather conditions about the time of the accident that were conducive to moderate carburetor icing at cruise power or serious icing at glide power. However, the investigation could not determine whether carburetor icing caused the loss of engine power.
Probable Cause: The loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined because postaccident examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal any mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
Sources:
NTSB
FAA register: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=3675P
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 30 November 1982 | N3675P | Private | 0 | Brevig Mission, AK | |
sub |
| 18 July 1999 | N3675P | Private | 0 | Teller, AK | |
sub |
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 08-Aug-2015 06:35 | Geno | Added |
| 10-Aug-2015 03:54 | Geno | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Location, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
| 14-Aug-2015 12:44 | gerard57 | Updated [Total fatalities, Narrative] |
| 08-Sep-2015 05:34 | Geno | Updated [Nature, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:30 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 01-Dec-2017 15:07 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Operator, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
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