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Mystery mid-air collision for Alaska pilot

By NTSB · October 9, 2023 ·

The pilot reported that while in level cruise flight over an area of remote and unpopulated terrain near Chickaloon, Alaska, at an altitude of about 1,500 feet mean sea level, he noticed a dark flash in the upper left corner of the Cessna 180’s windscreen.

He immediately pitched the nose of the airplane down and to the right to avoid another airplane.

With his airplane operating normally and unaware that the two airplanes had contacted each other, he continued to his destination airport.

During a post-flight inspection, he noticed black marks and metal damage on the upper surface of the left wing.

A post-accident examination revealed that the airplane had sustained substantial damage to the left wing and what appeared to be a black tire mark.

The other aircraft involved has not been identified.

Probable Cause: A mid-air collision for reasons that could not be determined based on the available evidence.

NTSB Identification: 104116

To download the final report. Click here. This will trigger a PDF download to your device.

This October 2021 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.

About NTSB

The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent federal agency charged by Congress with investigating every civil aviation accident in the United States and significant events in the other modes of transportation, including railroad, transit, highway, marine, pipeline, and commercial space. It determines the probable causes of accidents and issues safety recommendations aimed at preventing future occurrences.

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Comments

  1. RAY HICKS says

    October 12, 2023 at 5:48 am

    One report said “rubber tire marks on top of the wing of the damaged area. , then a reply to that very same incident . Doesn’t seem to jive claiming to be a bird collision?
    Bird with rubber parts ??? Well , that’s a 1st.

  2. Johnnie Nelson says

    October 11, 2023 at 7:19 am

    It makes you want to question the one pilot involved. Why didn’t he report immediately and give his location, we already know he was flying illegal. I’m sure our questions will all be answered given time.

  3. Charlie "West" Lemmond says

    October 11, 2023 at 6:58 am

    It was probably a military drone or a civillian operated drone.
    That would explain the silencing of the other aircraft that probally crashed unreported by our USA military intel.
    Was there any airport that rcvd. emergency assistance for a two point aircraft landing ..lol for the other craft involved
    Be prepared for more wierd and unaccountable mid air collision instances in coming months untill we get a grip on the regulation and licensing of drone operators like we should be doing with our arms & ammo regulation and licensing.

  4. DeAnna says

    October 10, 2023 at 7:21 pm

    I live under that area of sky. A few things have me wondering. Why was there no location given? Or circumstance. Was one taking off, and the other just flying by? What happened to the second plane? I did not know that there was NO communication between the two after it happened, until I just read the previous comment. That seems very wrong.

  5. Sam Parsons says

    October 10, 2023 at 5:24 am

    Unaware of contact? Hmmm, I hit a soft and feathered bird in the dark of night and that “contact” left considerably less dented wing aluminum but there was absolutely no doubt in my mind that I had hit something. This pilot has 25000 hours and is an ATP ex-727 pilot so why is he flying an aircraft 9 months out of annual and nearly 3 years since his last flight review? He also had radio communication with the other aircraft after the collision but he refused to use his radio call sign and never asked if the other aircraft needed assistance. All that experience seems to have bred contempt for following the rules…very sad.

    • scott k patterson says

      October 10, 2023 at 7:42 am

      Lot of criticism, But nothing that has anything to do with the incident.

  6. Leo Guerra says

    October 9, 2023 at 2:29 pm

    Thankfully he was not injured. I will not say they because there is no report of the other airplane. Hopefully no one was injured there either. The pilot’s reaction prevented it from being a tragedy.

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