ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 135279
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| Date: | Thursday 17 October 2002 |
| Time: | 10:20 |
| Type: |  Maule M-7-235 |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N5662S |
| MSN: | 4025C |
| Engine model: | Lycoming IO-540 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Wrangell, AK -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Wrangell, AK (WRG) |
| Wrangell, AK (WRG) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The solo private pilot was departing in a float-equipped airplane for a flight over an area of open ocean water. During a phone interview the day after the accident, the pilot said that just after takeoff, while crossing a 1-mile wide channel of open water, he encountered a fog bank. He noted that the ocean water was "as smooth as glass." As the flight progressed, the visibility deteriorated to a point that he elected to turn around. During a left 180 degree turn, the airplane descended, collided with the ocean, broke apart, and sank. In the pilot's written statement to the NTSB, the pilot said that he suspected that the floats of the airplane had been sabotaged, which allowed water to enter the floats, which in turn extended the airplane's takeoff roll, and precipitated his encounter with the fog bank. In a written statement to the NTSB, a witness who could hear, but not see the accident airplane's takeoff, wrote, in part: "The fog at that time was so heavy and so thick that our dock, which is about 75 feet from where I was standing, was a slight shadow. It would have been zero visibility." The airplane wreckage sank in ocean waters estimated to be between 150 to 250 feet deep and has not been recovered.
Probable Cause: The pilot's inadequate weather evaluation, his continued flight into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), and his failure to maintain adequate altitude/clearance from terrain/water, which resulted in a collision with water while maneuvering. Factors associated with the accident were fog and glassy water conditions.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20021018X05343&key=1
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 21-Dec-2016 19:26 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 09-Dec-2017 17:56 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
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