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August 9, 2023 · Piper PA-18-150 · N4481Z

Skwentna, AK

Overview

Report Status
Final with probable cause
Event Type
Accident
Date
August 9, 2023
Injury Outcomes
2 injuries (2 fatalities)
Location
Skwentna, AK
Aircraft
Piper PA-18-150 (1969)
Tail Number
N4481Z
Operator
Willow Creek Aviation
Injuries
Fatal
Aircraft Damage
Destroyed
NTSB Number
ANC23FA061

The pilot was conducting a commercial on-demand charter flight to shuttle two individuals in support of a remote hunting excursion. The accident flight passenger and a friend chartered with the pilot’s company to transport them and their hunting gear to a base camp. Three days before the accident, the pilot and the two hunters departed from the company’s base airport and conducted a scouting trip in the pilot’s Cessna 206 airplane to check out the area for a possible hunting location and a suitable landing area for the pilot’s PA-18 airplane. On the morning of the accident, about 0830, the pilot and the two hunters departed the company’s base airport in the Cessna 206 airplane, and they landed at a remote airstrip in an area about 50 miles southeast of the planned base camp. The hunters and hunting gear were offloaded and the pilot returned to the company base in the Cessna 206 to pick up his PA-18 airplane. The pilot returned to the remote airstrip in the PA-18 and loaded one hunter and his gear for the flight to the hunting location. The pilot informed the other hunter he was expected to return in about 2 hours to pick him up and transport him to the planned hunting location. The airplane departed the remote airstrip about 1150, and no further communications were received from the pilot or passenger. About 1600, after the airplane did not return, the hunter contacted family members using a satellite messaging device to see if they were aware of the overdue airplane’s status. Over the next several hours, family members and friends attempted to communicate with the pilot and passenger’s satellite messaging devices, but those attempts were unsuccessful. Search and rescue operations began that evening, but initial search flights were suspended due to poor weather. The following day, the airplane wreckage was located at the bottom of an estimated 500 to 600 ft deep narrow ravine. Due to the unique challenges posed by the accident location, neither the occupants nor the wreckage were recovered from the accident site. Weather information near the accident site was limited due to a lack of weather reporting facilities in the remote accident location. Weather advisories active for the area that included the accident site included mountains occasionally obscured by clouds/precipitation with deteriorating conditions. Based upon available weather data and the impact evidence, it is likely that the pilot entered an area of reduced visibility and was unable to maneuver the airplane to avoid the terrain before the airplane impacted the ravine. Although the known circumstances of the accident are consistent with a controlled flight into terrain event, the factual information available was limited because the wreckage was not recovered and no autopsy or toxicology of the pilot could be performed; therefore, whether other circumstances may have contributed to the accident could not be determined.

NTSB Probable Cause

An impact with terrain for reasons that could not be determined because the airplane was not recovered due to the inaccessible nature of the accident site.

Full Narrative

On August 9, 2023, about 1215 Alaska daylight time, a Piper PA-18-150 airplane, N4481Z, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident about 60 miles northwest of Skwentna, Alaska. The pilot and passenger sustained fatal injuries. The airplane was being operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 on-demand charter flight. The airplane was operated by Willow Creek Aviation, LLC, in support of a remote sheep hunting excursion. The passenger and a friend chartered Willow Creek Aviation, LLC, to transport them and their hunting gear to the Dillinger River area. On August 6, 2023, the pilot and the two hunters departed from the Big Lake Airport (PAGQ), Big Lake, Alaska, and conducted a scouting trip in the pilot’s Cessna 206 airplane to check out the Dillinger River area for a possible hunting location and a suitable landing area for the pilot’s PA-18 airplane. The passengers were planning for an 8-to-10-day hunting trip. On the morning of the accident, about 0830, the pilot and the two hunters departed PAGQ in Willow Creek Aviation’s Cessna 206 airplane and they landed at a remote airstrip in an area referred to as Donkey Creek. The hunters and hunting gear were offloaded and the pilot returned to PAGQ to pick up his PA-18, the accident airplane. The pilot returned to Donkey Creek in the PA-18 and loaded one hunter and his gear for the flight to the hunting location near the Dillinger River (see Figure 1). The pilot informed the other hunter he was expected to return in about 2 hours to pick him up and transport him to the planned hunting location. Figure 1. Planned flight overview and accident site location. Based on a cellular phone video from the other hunter, the airplane departed from Donkey Creek about 1150, and no further communications were received from the pilot or passenger. About 1600, after the airplane did not return to Donkey Creek, the hunter contacted family members using a satellite messaging device to see if they were aware of the overdue airplane’s status. Over the next several hours, family members and friends attempted to communicate with the pilot and passenger’s satellite messaging devices, but those attempts were unsuccessful. About 2130, a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) alert notice was issued for the overdue airplane. Search and rescue operations began that evening by the Alaska Air National Guard Rescue Coordination Center (AKRCC). Initial search flights were then suspended due to poor weather in the identified search area. On August 10th, about 0930, the airplane wreckage was located by the AKRCC at the bottom of an estimated 500 to 600 ft deep narrow ravine of the West Fork of the Yentna River, also known as Shellabarger Pass in Denali National Park and Preserve (see Figures 2 and 3). Figure 2. Accident site location (airplane circled in red) Figure 3. Airplane wreckage in bottom of ravine

Flight

Event TypeAccident
Event Time12:15 AKDT
Nearest Airport0nm
Flight Plan FiledNone
Flight Plan ActivatedNo
Aircraft FireNo
Aircraft ExplosionNo

Aircraft

AircraftPiper PA-18-150
Tail NumberN4481Z
Aircraft CategoryAir
DamageDestroyed
OperatorWillow Creek Aviation
Operating RulePart 135
Engines1
Engine TypeReciprocating
Engine DetailsLycoming · O-320-A25 · Reciprocating · 180
Seats2

People & Injuries

Injury Summary2 injuries (2 fatalities)
Fatal2
Serious0
Minor0
Uninjured0
Total2
Crew 1Age 45 · Second Class · Fatal

Conditions

ConditionsVMC
LightDaylight
Wind180° @ 7 kt
Visibility10 sm
CeilingBroken clouds 1800 ft
Temperature / Dew Point57 / 54
Altimeter29.58 inHg
Observation Time12:48

Appendix: Source Data