14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Thursday, August 06, 2015 in Chugiak, AK
Probable Cause Approval Date: 06/09/2016
Aircraft: PIPER PA 18-150, registration: N3675P
Injuries: 2 Fatal.
NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
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.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
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.
HISTORY OF FLIGHT
On August 6, 2015, about 2350 Alaska daylight time, a tailwheel-equipped Piper PA-18-150 airplane, N3675P, presumably sustained substantial damage during impact with the ocean waters of Knik Arm, about 4 miles northwest of Chugiak, Alaska. The private pilot and sole passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was registered to, and operated by, the pilot as a visual flight rules (VFR) cross-country personal flight under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91, when the accident occurred. Visual meteorological conditions (VMC) prevailed along the route of flight, and no flight plan was filed. The flight departed the McGrath Airport, McGrath, Alaska, at 2111, en route to the Birchwood Airport, Chugiak.
According to family members, the pilot resided in McGrath, and the purpose of the flight was to attend a family function scheduled for the following day in Anchorage.
A distress call was received by the Alaska State Troopers at 2354 from the pilot stating that he had just crashed his airplane in the waters of the Knik Arm, it was too far to swim, and he was requesting immediate rescue.
At 0003, the 11th Air Force's Rescue Coordination Center received notification of the accident and immediately diverted two C-17 Globemaster airplanes from a training mission to begin searching for the airplane and occupants. The two airplanes were on-scene and searching the waters of Knik Arm by 0016.
Search personnel from the Alaska State Troopers, Civil Air Patrol, and U.S. Coast Guard along with several volunteers aided in the search effort.
On August 7, about 0610, the Alaska Air National Guard located the wreckage about 1.8 miles northwest of the Birchwood Airport. The airplane was inverted and mostly submerged under the salt water with the bottom of the fuselage, wing strut attach points, landing gear, and a portion of the propeller protruding above the water. No survivors were found inside or in the vicinity of the wreckage.
PERSONNEL INFORMATION
The pilot, age 29, held a private pilot certificate with an airplane single engine land rating. His most recent third-class medical certificate was issued on June 13, 2015, with no limitations.
No personal logbooks were located for the pilot. According to family members, he had accumulated about 360 total flight hours in airplanes, and had recently completed an emergency maneuvers training course.
AIRCRAFT INFORMATION
The airplane was a Piper PA18-150, manufactured in 1955 and equipped with a Lycoming O-320 series engine. The tachometer at the time of the accident displayed 995.08 hours. At the time of the last annual inspection, completed on January 16, 2015, the tachometer read 897.58 hours and the total time in service was 4473.58 hours.
METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION
The closest weather reporting facility is Birchwood Airport, Chugiak, about 2 miles southeast of the accident site. At 2336, an aviation routine weather report (METAR) from the Birchwood Airport reported, in part: wind from 120 degrees at 3 knots; sky condition, clear; visibility 10 statute miles; temperature 63 degrees F; dew point 52 degrees F; altimeter 29.85 inHg.
COMMUNICATIONS
A postaccident review of archived Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) radio communication recordings revealed that at 2109, the pilot reported taxiing for departure from the McGrath Airport. At 2111, he reporting taking off from runway 16 at the McGrath Airport. No further radio communications were received from the airplane.
WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION
On August 8, 2015, under the supervision of the NTSB IIC recovery crews recovered the wreckage from the ocean floor and transported it to Birchwood Airport.
The airplane's wreckage was subject to several tide cycles, which partially filled the wreckage with organic material adding additional weight. During the extraction the airframe could not support the additional weight.
Both wings fractured at the forward spar attach points and folded aft. The fuselage fractured about 3 feet forward of the horizontal stabilizer and remained attached by the rudder and elevator control cables. The carburetor heat control was found in the "off" or "cold" position.
The engine remained attached to the airframe by the engine mount. Visual examination of the engine revealed no evidence of pre-impact catastrophic mechanical malfunction or fire. Both propeller blades remained attached to the engine crankshaft. There was no conclusive evidence observed on the propeller blades consistent with the absorption of rotational energy sustained at the time of impact.
All the primary flight control surfaces remained connected to their respective attach points, and flight control continuity was verified from all of the primary flight control surfaces to the cockpit.
The wreckage was relocated to Alaska Claims Service's, Wasilla, Alaska. On August 13, 2015, a wreckage examination and layout was performed under the direction of the NTSB IIC. Another NTSB investigator, two FAA aviation safety inspectors, and an air safety investigator from Piper Aircraft and Lycoming Engines assisted the NTSB IIC.
The fuel selector valve was found in an intermediate position between the right fuel tank and the off position. It could not be determined if the selector valve was in this position prior to the impact sequence or as a result of the occupant's evacuation.
The trim jackscrew was measured and determined to be in a slight nose down trim setting.
The left and right wing fuel tanks, gascolator bowl, and carburetor bowl were drained and found to contain a fluid consistent with a combination of salt water and fuel. All samples emitted an odor consistent with automotive gasoline.
The examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION
To date, the remains of the pilot have not been located, therefore, no pathological or toxicology information exists. At the time of his last medical examination, no concerns were reported by the airman and no significant issues were identified by the Aviation Medical Examiner.
On August 29, the remains of the passenger were located and recovered from the shore of the Cook Inlet. A postmortem examination conducted by the Alaska State Medical Examiner's Office attributed the cause of death to be drowning. No lifejacket or other personal flotation device was found with the passenger.
The FAA Civil Aeromedical Institute did not perform toxicology examinations for the passenger.
SURVIVAL ASPECTS
At 2354, a distress call was received by the Alaska State Troopers from the pilot, stating that he had just crashed in the waters of Knik Arm, and was standing on top of his airplane. He requested rescue and stated that he was too far from shore to swim. At 0003, the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center received notification of the accident and air assets were on scene searching at 0016, but due to the rising tide, did not locate the airplane until about 0610 on August 7. When the wreckage was recovered from the water, no occupants were present inside.
The area the airplane was located in was a portion of the Knik Arm consisting of fast moving salt water. Several glacier fed rivers terminate at the inlet and visibility in the water is often less than 1 foot due to turbidity. The Inlet is an area with strong tidal influence, and strong currents.
On August 6, at 2354, a buoy located near the Port of Anchorage recorded the water temperature at 61.3 degrees Fahrenheit.
A February 2008 NATO Research and Technology Organization publication titled Survival at Sea for Mariners, Aviators and Search and Rescue Personnel described the four stages of cold water immersion as:
• Stage 1: Initial immersion responses or cold shock (3-5 min.)
• Stage 2: Short-term immersion or swimming failure (5-30 min.)
• Stage 3: Hypothermia (= 30 min.)
• Stage 4: Post-rescue collapse or circum rescue collapse
In this publication, it is stated that during stage 1, "death from cold shock is not uncommon," and it takes place "within 3-5 minutes of immersion." It further states that swimming in "cold, dense water" is very dangerous (stage 2). As the body becomes exhausted, the person transitions to a more vertical position before total submersion.
A US Coast Guard article from January 6, 2015, titled A Lifejacket Buys You Time, defines "cold" as water temperature less than 70 degrees. It further states that it takes at least an hour for the full effects of hypothermia to set in and another hour after loss of consciousness for the heart to stop. It further states that without a lifejacket or other flotation device, drowning will occur prior to death from hypothermia.
The airplane was equipped with an ACK Technologies, Inc., E-04 406MHz emergency locator transmitter (ELT). The ELT is designed to transmit a signal on 406MHz, 243MHz and 121.5MHz frequencies. The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center (AKRCC) reported never receiving a 406MHz signal. Currently, ELT's are not certified, nor required to be certified, for operation during or after submersion.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
A Garmin 196 handheld GPS was still mounted on the instrument panel and all cables were still attached when the airplane was extricated from the water. The unit sent to the NTSB Vehicle Recorders Laboratory in Washington, D.C. for examination.
A NTSB electrical engineer was able to extract the GPS data for the accident flight, which included, in part, time, latitude, longitude, and GPS altitude. Groundspeed and course information were derived from the extracted parameters.
At 2340 AKD [07:40:50 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)], the airplane began a climb from 1156 feet above mean sea level (msl). At 2345, the airplane achieved a peak recorded altitude of 1549 feet msl and began an immediate descent. Over the next 2:08, the airplane descended 317 feet, averaging about 176 feet per minute. During the climb and descent, the airspeed of the airplane remained within about 5 knots.
At 2347, the rate of descent began to steadily increase to a peak vertical velocity of about 947 feet per minute and averaged about 890 feet per minute until the last data point at 2349 when the airplane was 29 feet msl. During the final 1:17 of recorded data, the heading of the airplane changed from an east-southeast heading to a south-southeasterly heading toward the nearest point of land.
A flight track map overlay, and tabular data corresponding to the accident flight are available in the public docket for this accident.
When the temperature and dew point are entered into a carburetor icing probability chart, the result is in the "moderate icing – cruise power or serious icing – glide power" category.
TESTS AND RESEARCH
Engine
On August 13, 2015, an engine examination was performed by Lycoming Engines, under the supervision of the NTSB IIC. No anomalies, contamination or evidence of malfunction was found in any of the engine accessories. The cylinders, pistons, valve train, crankshaft and other internal components were all without evidence of anomaly or malfunction with the exception of the shared camshaft lobe for the number 3 and 4 cylinders. A lighted borescope was used to visualize the subject camlobe. The camshaft lobe was worn at the "lifting" area of the lobe, but an actual measurement of wear could not be ascertained. There was clear burnished camlobe edges and spalled surface visible on the tappet face.
SETH G. FAIRBANKS: http://registry.faa.gov/N3675P
NTSB Identification: ANC15FA062
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Thursday, August 06, 2015 in Chugiak, AK
Aircraft: PIPER PA 18-150, registration: N3675P
Injuries: 2 Fatal.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On August 6, 2015, about 2350 Alaska daylight time, a wheel-equipped Piper PA-18-150 airplane, N3675P, sustained substantial damage during impact with the ocean waters of Knik Arm about 4 miles northwest of Chugiak, Alaska. The private pilot and one passenger are presumed to have received fatal injuries. The airplane was registered to, and operated by, the pilot as a visual flight rules (VFR) cross-country personal flight under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91, when the accident occurred. Visual meteorological conditions (VMC) prevailed along the route of flight, and no flight plan was filed. The flight departed the McGrath Airport, McGrath, Alaska, at 2111, en route to the Birchwood Airport, Chugiak.
A postaccident review of archived Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) radio communication recordings revealed that at 2109, the pilot reported taxiing for departure from the McGrath Airport. At 2111, he reporting taking off from runway 16 at the McGrath Airport. No further radio communications were received from the airplane.
At 2354, a 911 call was received by the Alaska State Troopers from the pilot, stating that he had just crashed in the waters of Knik Arm, and was standing on top of his airplane. He requested rescue, and stated that he was too far from shore to swim. At 0003, the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center received notification of the accident and air assets were on scene searching at 0016. The search was conducted by personnel from the Alaska Air National Guard, U.S. Air Force, Alaska State Troopers and Civil Air Patrol, with support from the U.S. Coast Guard.
On August 7, about 0610, the airplane was located about 1.8 miles northwest of the Birchwood Airport. The airplane was inverted and mostly submerged under the salt water with the bottom of the fuselage, wing strut attach points, landing gear, and a portion of the propeller protruding above the water. The occupants were not located with the airplane, and the official search continued through August 8 before being suspended. The two occupants are still missing and presumed deceased.
The area the airplane was located in was a portion of the Knik Arm consisting of fast moving salt water. The several rivers that terminate at the inlet are glacier fed, and visibility in the water is often less than 1 foot due to turbidity. The Knik Arm is an area with strong tidal influence, and strong currents.
On August 8, about 1045, the airplane was extracted from the water by helicopter. Due to the amount of water and organic material contained within the airplane after being submerged through several tide cycles, the airframe structure could not support the additional weight. Both wings fractured at the forward spar attach points and folded aft. The fuselage fractured about 3 feet forward of the horizontal stabilizer and remained attached by the rudder and elevator control cables.
A Garmin 196 handheld GPS was still mounted on the instrument panel and all cables were still attached. The unit was removed and sent to the NTSB Vehicle Recorder Laboratory in Washington, D.C. for download.
The closest weather reporting facility is Birchwood Airport, Chugiak, about 2 miles southeast of the accident site. At 2336, an aviation routine weather report (METAR) from the Birchwood Airport was reporting in part: wind from 120 degrees at 3 knots; sky condition, clear; visibility, 10 statute miles; temperature 63 degrees F; dewpoint 52 degrees F; altimeter, 29.85 inHg.
A detailed wreckage and engine examination is pending. The airplane was equipped with a Lycoming O-320 series engine.
Any witnesses should email witness@ntsb.gov, and any friends and family who want to contact investigators about the accident should email assistance@ntsb.gov.
Troopers: Pilot Didn’t Call 9-1-1 From Crash
UPDATED: 8/14, 10:20 a.m. – Alaska State Troopers have released more information about their investigation into what happened with an emergency phone they believe came from pilot Seth Fairbanks after his Supercub crashed into Cook Inlet around midnight August 6th. Troopers launched an investigation into the initial call after receiving scrutiny about the timeline of the call and response, says Trooper Spokesperson Megan Peters.
“It appears that the phone call was actually made from a satellite phone and instead of it being a 9-1-1 call, it was actually a call to the main number for the Bethel Alaska State Trooper Post, which is a non-emergency line. After hours that line is automatically transferred to Fairbanks dispatch,” said Peters.
Peters says the non-emergency call went into the Bethel post at 11:54 p.m. As of July 1st, after-hour phone calls in the Bethel region are automatically routed to the Alaska State Trooper dispatch center in Fairbanks.
“The call lasted for about 69 seconds after it was rolled over to the Fairbanks post where dispatchers were able to talk to Mr. Fairbanks before the phone died. After that phone call ended at 23:55 the dispatch center in Fairbanks contacted Mat-com and Mat-com was able to get clarifying information from them and then contact RCC which, very fortunately had resources in the air and they were able to divert those,” said Peters.
Seven minutes after the initial call, at two minutes past midnight, the dispatch center in Wasilla called the Rescue Coordination Center (RCC) who rerouted C-17 aircraft. Authorities close to the crash site were notified at 12:08. RCC contacted a helicopter crew to prepare for a flight, which launched at approximately 1:18 a.m.
No other calls were made from the satellite phone, according to Troopers. There was no caller identification or number for a call back.
29-year-old Fairbanks, and 23-year-old Anthony Hooper, both of McGrath are still missing and presumed dead. The two men were on their way to a wedding reception in Anchorage from McGrath.
A service for Fairbanks is set for Bethel Friday, August 15.
-Source: http://kyuk.org/troopers-pilot-didnt-call-9-1-1/
The chain of events is still not clear but it appears there was at least a 9-minute delay – maybe longer – before searchers were dispatched that night.
On Tuesday evening, a spokesman for Alaska State Troopers emailed brief answers to questions posed earlier in the day. But troopers have not directly addressed the gap of time between the 911 call and when rescuers were first sent out.
The family and friends of Seth Fairbanks, the 28-year-old pilot of the Piper PA-18 Super Cub, are grieving his possible death as questions swirl about what happened.
Fairbanks was a loving father of young twin girls but also an adventure-seeker who once escaped from armed militants in Sudan before he was believed to be lost in the waters of Knik Arm. Both Fairbanks and his passenger, 23-year-old Anthony Hooper of McGrath, remain missing.
Troopers for the first time on Tuesday revealed that the call to authorities from the crash site in Knik Arm was received at 11:54 p.m. Thursday night by a troopers dispatcher in Fairbanks.
“The caller stated that he had crashed his plane in the inlet west of Birchwood airport. He said they were standing on top of the plane and needed an airplane or boat immediately,” troopers spokesman Timothy DeSpain said in an email Tuesday evening.
The call ended suddenly. The dispatcher didn’t have time to get additional details or give any guidance.
Seth Fairbanks’ sisters listened to the recording of the call to identify who was speaking, said his father, Grant Fairbanks. An investigator from the National Transportation Safety Board needed the authentication.
The after-hours call from a spot between Anchorage and Palmer had been automatically routed to Fairbanks from the troopers’ Bethel post. But it shouldn’t have gone to Bethel to begin with, according to a municipality of Anchorage technology expert.
“Something didn’t work the way it was supposed to,” said Trygve Erickson, the city’s director of communications and electronics. “It should have gone to Anchorage or Palmer, one or the other. And it didn’t. … We know it was a failure.”
He was basing his comments on initial media reports that a 911 call went to Bethel police, which turned out to be wrong -- though the call was routed through Bethel.
At 12:03 a.m. Friday, troopers alerted the Alaska National Guard’s Rescue Coordination Center on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, according to Lt. Col. Candis Olmstead of the Guard.
That is nine minutes after the call was received by troopers in Fairbanks.
Dangerous waters
Troopers, in an online post last week about the crash, said troopers in Palmer received a report of a downed aircraft at 12:08 a.m. Friday -- 14 minutes after the initial call. Troopers contacted not only the Rescue Coordination Center but also the Anchorage Fire Department, which has a rescue boat.
Troopers didn’t answer questions Tuesday evening about the different time references, or the initial reference to the Palmer post rather than the Fairbanks post.
When the Air Guard’s rescue center got the call, two C-17s already in the air on a training mission were diverted for the search, Olmstead said in an email. Airmen searched with night vision goggles for two hours that first night, she said.
The Anchorage Fire Department was dispatched at 12:16 a.m. on Friday, said Capt. Blake Lindsoe, who oversees swim and dive rescue crews. The department’s rescue boat and two personal watercraft -- akin to Jet Skis -- were on their way to the reported crash area by 12:34 a.m., Lindsoe said.
The fire crews never planned to dive, he said.
“That is a very dangerous water,” Lindsoe said. “You could go down there, the water changes – the current – and you could get trapped, get pushed up against something, and you couldn’t get back up out of the water.”
That night, they kept searching until about 5 a.m. and didn’t see any sign of the plane or debris. They don’t have night vision goggles. The mission was risky for the smaller watercraft, which can travel in shallow water but aren’t equipped for late night darkness, Lindsoe said. They only had hand-held lights.
Fairbanks was a strong swimmer, his father said. A friend of Seth, author Don Rearden – his former basketball coach – said he was an excellent athlete.
But even a fit swimmer would have trouble with the darkness, the strong tide and the silt that fills up clothing and weighs a person down, Lindsoe said.
The high tide around Anchorage of 30.6 feet came at 12:54 a.m. Friday, a surge of more than 28 feet in less than six hours.
The Inlet water is cold, but at this time of year it is not frigid. Fire crews wear thermal underwear under dry suits and use life jackets designed to hold up two people. Rescuers figure they have an hour to save someone.
http://www.adn.com
Web extra: Helicopter brings crashed Piper PA-18-150 Super Cub plane to Birchwood Airport.
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The Piper PA-18-150 Super Cub plane that was found on the Knik Arm mud flats Friday morning is loaded onto a trailer and taken away for examination on Saturday, August 8, 2015.
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Aerial search for occupants of crashed Knik Arm plane suspended
The plane that was found on the Knik Arm mud flats Friday morning is loaded onto a trailer and taken away for examination on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2015. Devin Kelly
The Alaska Air National Guard said late Saturday afternoon that the official aerial search had been suspended for a pilot and passenger believed to be missing from a plane that crashed into Knik Arm nearly two days ago.
Over two days, aircraft scoured the beaches and coastal waters in the area, Alaska Air National Guard spokesperson Lt. Col. Candis Olmstead said in an email. After searching the area Friday evening, the Civil Air Patrol sent out three aircraft at 9:30 a.m. Saturday for a day-long sweep.
A ground search was ongoing, Olmstead said.
“Friends of the pilot’s family will conduct an aerial search with two aircraft this afternoon and into the evening,” Olmstead wrote. “They also continue to search public access beaches on foot.”
She said that wildlife officers from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and security forces personnel would be searching the coastal areas of the base on all-terrain vehicles Saturday afternoon and evening.
Alaska State Troopers did not publicly identify the pilot and passenger on board the plane Saturday, but family members identified the pilot as Seth Fairbanks, a 29-year-old equipment operator who lives in McGrath. Federal Aviation Administration records list Fairbanks as the owner of the plane.
Grant Fairbanks said his son was flying into the area for a family gathering on Friday.
When no word came, family members went to the Birchwood airport to look for him, Grant Fairbanks said. Around the same time, they learned a plane had been found.
"Knowing the color of the plane, the direction, the time, we knew it was him," Grant Fairbanks said Saturday night.
About 30 people searched the east side of Cook Inlet on Friday, and about the same number searched the west side on Saturday, he said; friends were also out in planes, searching from the air.
Grant Fairbanks said his hopes weren't high.
"People don't survive in that water for longer than half an hour," he said.
He said his son has been a pilot for about three years, and attended a special flight training school in California last winter.
"He was a very proficient pilot," Grant Fairbanks said. He said his son frequently flew into Birchwood Airport.
One of six children, Seth Fairbanks grew up on his family's homestead in Bethel. Grant Fairbanks said his son was athletic, a standout basketball player in high school, and an outdoorsman. He twice visited south Sudan to build water wells as a volunteer.
"He was a very helpful person," Grant Fairbanks said. "Just a really good person."
He said the family planned to hold a memorial service in Anchorage in the coming days, as well as services in McGrath and Bethel.
Earlier Saturday, a helicopter and boat lifted the wreckage of the Piper PA-18 Super Cub out of the water and took it to Birchwood Airport in Chugiak. An investigator from the National Transportation Safety Board was present as the plane, its tail severely smashed, was disassembled and placed onto the bed of a truck.
Shaun Williams, the NTSB investigator on the scene, said the wreckage was being taken to a secure facility near Palmer or Wasilla. Early next week, investigators and manufacturers will begin examining the wreckage to figure out the cause of the crash, Williams said.
Troopers said the plane was discovered at 6:10 a.m. Friday about two miles northeast of Birchwood Airport. It was found upside down and partially submerged on the mud flats.
The crash was first reported about midnight Friday. DeSpain said that troopers believe that an occupant of the plane made a 911 call.
Source: https://www.adn.com
ANCHORAGE - Official search efforts were suspended Saturday afternoon for the two people missing from a small plane which crashed into Knik Arm off the Birchwood Airport overnight Thursday, as family and friends continue work to find them.
Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs spokeswoman Lt. Col. Candis Olmstead announced the decision, made by the 11th Air Force's Rescue Coordination Center, in an email message shortly after 4 p.m. Saturday. Three Civil Air Patrol aircraft had been deployed since 9:30 a.m. Saturday to continue search efforts, following air, land and sea efforts also involving the Anchorage Fire Department and U.S. Coast Guard on Friday.
"All of the beaches and coastal waters in the area have been combed several times by multiple aircraft at low tide for the past two days," Olmstead wrote. "Friends of the pilot's family will conduct an aerial search with two aircraft this afternoon and into the evening. They also continue to search public access beaches on foot."
Alaska State Troopers spokesman Tim Despain said word was still pending Saturday afternoon on the identity of the missing pilot and passenger.
Earlier in the day, National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Clint Johnson confirmed that crews were able to recover the PA-18 shortly after 10 a.m. Saturday morning, with a helicopter flying it to the Birchwood Airport. A plan to recover the plane at low tide the previous night, at roughly 8 p.m. Friday, had scrapped when the tide turned out to be higher than anticipated.
“This morning they were able to get a line on this airplane,” Johnson said. “They were able to bring a helicopter in and they’ve got it secured in a hangar and it’s being examined.”
In a video sent to Channel 2 by viewer Mike Skupniewitz, the helicopter approaches the airport with the Super Cub carried as a sling load below it. At least one of the plane’s wings appears to still be attached to the aircraft as it is lowered to the ground.
Despain said neither of the people believed to be on board the plane when it crashed were found inside.
NTSB investigator Shaun Williams said Saturday that investigators have shifted their estimate for the time when the plane crashed -- initially believed to be shortly after midnight Friday -- to late Thursday evening, shortly before midnight. He said the aircraft's time in the water had resulted in significant damage during the recovery process, but that the plane was being taken to the Mat-Su Valley for further assessment.
"The aircraft stayed in the water for so long based on the number of tides that came through,, brought in sediment and other organic materials, that it got so heavy when they went to pick it up the structure couldn't support the additional weight," Williams said. "All the crumpling and everything you're seeing is mostly from the extraction from the water."
According to Williams, the added damage has complicated investigators' work.
"It makes it a little more difficult in the respect that normally when we go up to the scene, we're looking at the damage that happened during the accident sequence," Williams said. "This time we don't see that, so we're kind of having to backtrack on other factors."
The Coast Guard Sector Anchorage command center was broadcasting a call Saturday night for mariners to watch for people in the water near the Port of Anchorage. Staff at the center said the call was linked to the crash off Birchwood, with the port indicated to be the likely location where drift patterns would carry the plane's missing occupants.
Source: http://www.ktuu.com
ANCHORAGE - Official search efforts were suspended Saturday afternoon for the two people missing from a small plane which crashed into Knik Arm off the Birchwood Airport overnight Thursday, as family and friends continue work to find them.
Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs spokeswoman Lt. Col. Candis Olmstead announced the decision, made by the 11th Air Force's Rescue Coordination Center, in an email message shortly after 4 p.m. Saturday. Three Civil Air Patrol aircraft had been deployed since 9:30 a.m. Saturday to continue search efforts, following air, land and sea efforts also involving the Anchorage Fire Department and U.S. Coast Guard on Friday.
"All of the beaches and coastal waters in the area have been combed several times by multiple aircraft at low tide for the past two days," Olmstead wrote. "Friends of the pilot's family will conduct an aerial search with two aircraft this afternoon and into the evening. They also continue to search public access beaches on foot."
Alaska State Troopers spokesman Tim Despain said word was still pending Saturday afternoon on the identity of the missing pilot and passenger.
Earlier in the day, National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Clint Johnson confirmed that crews were able to recover the PA-18 shortly after 10 a.m. Saturday morning, with a helicopter flying it to the Birchwood Airport. A plan to recover the plane at low tide the previous night, at roughly 8 p.m. Friday, had scrapped when the tide turned out to be higher than anticipated.
“This morning they were able to get a line on this airplane,” Johnson said. “They were able to bring a helicopter in and they’ve got it secured in a hangar and it’s being examined.”
In a video sent to Channel 2 by viewer Mike Skupniewitz, the helicopter approaches the airport with the Super Cub carried as a sling load below it. At least one of the plane’s wings appears to still be attached to the aircraft as it is lowered to the ground.
Despain said neither of the people believed to be on board the plane when it crashed were found inside.
NTSB investigator Shaun Williams said Saturday that investigators have shifted their estimate for the time when the plane crashed -- initially believed to be shortly after midnight Friday -- to late Thursday evening, shortly before midnight. He said the aircraft's time in the water had resulted in significant damage during the recovery process, but that the plane was being taken to the Mat-Su Valley for further assessment.
"The aircraft stayed in the water for so long based on the number of tides that came through,, brought in sediment and other organic materials, that it got so heavy when they went to pick it up the structure couldn't support the additional weight," Williams said. "All the crumpling and everything you're seeing is mostly from the extraction from the water."
According to Williams, the added damage has complicated investigators' work.
"It makes it a little more difficult in the respect that normally when we go up to the scene, we're looking at the damage that happened during the accident sequence," Williams said. "This time we don't see that, so we're kind of having to backtrack on other factors."
The Coast Guard Sector Anchorage command center was broadcasting a call Saturday night for mariners to watch for people in the water near the Port of Anchorage. Staff at the center said the call was linked to the crash off Birchwood, with the port indicated to be the likely location where drift patterns would carry the plane's missing occupants.
Source: http://www.ktuu.com
News crews are on the shore of Knik Arm as a trooper helicopter flies overhead, Friday morning. A Piper PA-18 Super Cub crashed into Knik Arm near the Birchwood, AK airport and it was located at low tide on Friday, August 7, 2015. The search continues for the pilot.
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