The pilot was performing a personal flight in the Piper PA-12-150 with one passenger to hunt sheep in remote mountainous terrain near Healy, Alaska.
After the pilot failed to report to his place of employment four days after their departure, an extensive Search and Rescue (SAR) operation was launched the following day.
The wreckage was located two days after the SAR operation began in a remote snow-covered mountainous valley. Both the pilot and passenger died in the crash.
The airplane came to rest upright, with the fuselage banking to the right, both wings indicating forward/aft crushing, and the tail slightly elevated with little impact damage.
The date and time of the accident could not be determined. That meant the meteorological conditions before and at the time of the accident could not be determined.
The aft right wing spar exhibited signs of compression bending, with the right forward spar exhibiting aft bending. The aft left wing spar bolt indicated a failure in tension, and the left forward spar indicated forward bending.
A post-crash fire incinerated a large portion of the wreckage.
The pilot did not file a flight plan. If the pilot had filed a flight plan, SAR assets would have focused on a specific search area, which would likely have reduced the time to find the airplane.
Although the accident was likely not survivable due to the impact forces, a filed flight plan would have reduced the risk to aerial SAR assets operating in remote mountainous terrain.
Probable cause: An impact with terrain for reasons that could not be determined based on the available information.
NTSB Identification: ANC18FA071
This September 2018 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
Classic “PIC” becomes an observer. I lost a friend about 18 years ago to that problem, and another friend in the mid 1980s. I’ve read about it for years as “…impact with terrain for reasons that could not be determined…”
This flight would include hazards similar to the many photo flights I did and similar to the hazards any pilot may have when doing the popular flight over one’s home. It requires much faster cross-checking to avoid a deterioration of airspeed or altitude, a dangerous angle of attack, or a trend leading to those conditions. Very unfortunate.