Location: Chitina, Alaska
Accident Number: ANC21FA015
Date and Time: February 4, 2021, 10:51 Local
Registration: N9725Z
Aircraft: Cessna 185
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Defining Event: Aircraft structural failure
Injuries: 2 Fatal
Flight Conducted Under: Part 135: Air taxi and commuter - Scheduled
On February 4, 2021, about 1051 Alaska standard time, a Cessna A185E, N9725Z, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident about 14 miles northeast of Chitina, Alaska. The commercial pilot and passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 scheduled passenger flight.
A Garmin 696 GPSMAP was recovered from the accident site. GPS data logs for the day of the accident revealed that, after reaching a GPS altitude of about 7,500 ft, the airplane continued on a southeasterly track for about 10 minutes with a groundspeed between 120 and 130 knots. About 2 minutes before the accident, the airplane initiated a gradual right turn to the south and began a descent, which averaged about 734 ft per minute. The last fully recorded in-flight data point was at 1050:52, when the airplane was at a GPS altitude of 5,715 ft with a groundspeed of 154 kts and on a track of 282° (see figure 1).
Pilot Information
Certificate: Commercial
Age: 46,Male
Airplane Rating(s): Single-engine land; Single-engine sea; Multi-engine land
Seat Occupied: Left
Other Aircraft Rating(s): None
Restraint Used: 4-point
Instrument Rating(s): Airplane
Second Pilot Present: No
Instructor Rating(s): Airplane single-engine; Instrument airplane
Toxicology Performed: Yes
Medical Certification: Class 2 Without waivers/limitations
Last FAA Medical Exam: February 22, 2019
Occupational Pilot: Yes
Last Flight Review or Equivalent: June 22, 2020
Flight Time: 2883 hours (Pilot In Command, all aircraft), 62 hours (Last 90 days, all aircraft), 19 hours (Last 30 days, all aircraft)
Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information
Aircraft Make: Cessna
Registration: N9725Z
Model/Series: 185E
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Year of Manufacture: 1966
Amateur Built:
Airworthiness Certificate: Normal
Serial Number: 185-1035
Landing Gear Type: Tailwheel; Ski/wheel
Seats: 2
Date/Type of Last Inspection: November 6, 2020 100 hour
Certified Max Gross Wt.: 3300 lbs
Time Since Last Inspection:
Engines: 1 Reciprocating
Airframe Total Time: 6569.75 Hrs as of last inspection
Engine Manufacturer: Continental
ELT: C126 installed, activated, aided in locating accident
Engine Model/Series: IO-520-D
Registered Owner:
Rated Power: 300 Horsepower
Operator:
Operating Certificate(s) Held: Commuter air carrier (135), On-demand air taxi (135)
The accident airplane was involved in a collision in May 2014 that damaged the right wing, vertical stabilizer, rudder, right horizontal stabilizer, and right elevator. The right wing was replaced with a wing from a Cessna 180H. The differences between the Cessna 180H wing and the Cessna A185E wing are not structurally significant. Some repairs were performed to the outboard upper skin and ribs of the replacement right wing. The vertical stabilizer, rudder, right horizontal stabilizer, and right elevator were repaired.
Meteorological Information and Flight Plan
Conditions at Accident Site: Visual (VMC)
Condition of Light: Day
Observation Facility, Elevation: PAGK,1562 ft msl
Distance from Accident Site: 53 Nautical Miles
Observation Time: 12:53 Local
Direction from Accident Site: 311°
Lowest Cloud Condition: Clear
Visibility: 10 miles
Lowest Ceiling:
Visibility (RVR):
Wind Speed/Gusts: /
Turbulence Type Forecast/Actual: /
Wind Direction:
Turbulence Severity Forecast/Actual: /
Altimeter Setting: 30.26 inches Hg
Temperature/Dew Point: -22°C / -26°C
Precipitation and Obscuration: No Obscuration; No Precipitation
Departure Point: Glennallen, AK (PAGK)
Type of Flight Plan Filed: Company VFR
Destination: McCarthy, AK (PMXY)
Type of Clearance: None
Departure Time: 10:21 Local
Type of Airspace: Class E
Two pilots that responded to the accident site shortly after the accident reported no turbulence or significant winds aloft from the surface to 5,500 ft msl.
Wreckage and Impact Information
Crew Injuries: 1 Fatal
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Passenger Injuries: 1 Fatal
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries: Aircraft
Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 2 Fatal
Latitude, Longitude: 61.584722,-144.04583
The wreckage was scattered over mountainous, wooded terrain northeast of Chitina on the north side of the Chitina River Valley. The main wreckage included both landing gear with wheel penetration skis, engine, firewall, main fuselage, instrument panel, and left wing. The right wing, right aileron, right lift strut, and empennage were not found with the main wreckage. The part (top skin of right wing) located farthest from the main wreckage was about 710 ft from the main wreckage; the empennage was located about 446 ft from the main wreckage; and the inboard portion of the right wing was located about 407 ft from the main wreckage. The debris path and separated sections of the right wing and empennage were consistent with an in-flight breakup (see figure 2).
Examination of the main wreckage revealed evidence consistent with the airplane impacting the ground in a high-speed, near-vertical descent. The lower end of the left-wing strut was separated from the fuselage. The left-wing strut bolt was intact in the fitting and the fuselage lugs were fractured through the hole. The left wing remained attached at the fuselage attach points and exhibited compressive buckling on the inboard portion of the wing consistent with impact damage and the left wing being fully attached and intact before ground impact.
The skis remained attached to their respective attach points and all ski arresting cables, bungees, and rigging were intact and attached at their respective attach points. No preimpact mechanical anomalies were noted with the skis or their rigging.
All airframe parts were located within the main wreckage and surrounding woods. Flight control continuity was confirmed to all flight control surfaces except where recovery and overload separations existed. Both right-wing attach points exhibited damage and deformation in an upward direction at the wing root, consistent with a positive overload separation of the right wing before ground impact. The right-wing strut separated from the lower strut fitting with the rivets showing shear overstress signatures consistent with positive overload. The left deformation of the vertical stabilizer and rudder and the fractured attach points were consistent with the right wing failing first. Cable tears in the left fuselage and right empennage were consistent with the tail departing to the left side. All of the fracture surfaces examined had a dull, grainy appearance consistent with overstress separation. There was no evidence of corrosion or fatigue noted on any of the areas examined.
The two-bladed, constant speed propeller remained attached to the crankshaft flange; however, the crankshaft was fractured behind the crankshaft flange near the front of the engine case. The fractured surface had an angular, dull, grainy appearance consistent with overstress separation. One of the propeller blades was slightly bent aft and rotated freely in the hub. The other propeller blade was bent aft about 180° with minor leading-edge chunking, chordwise scratching, and gouging on the cambered face.
Examination of the engine did not reveal evidence of any preimpact anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.
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Location: Chitina, AK
Accident Number: ANC21FA015
Date & Time: February 4, 2021, 10:51 Local
Registration: N9725Z
Aircraft: Cessna 185
Injuries: 2 Fatal
Flight Conducted Under: Part 135: Air taxi & commuter - Scheduled
On February 4, 2021, about 1051 Alaska standard time, a Cessna A185E, N9725Z, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident about 14 miles northeast of Chitina, Alaska. The commercial pilot and the passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 scheduled passenger flight.
According to the director of operations of Copper Valley Air Service, the flight was a twice weekly scheduled flight with a planned route from Gulkana (PAGK) to McCarthy (PAMX) to Dan Creek, returning to PAGK. The flight departed PAGK at about 1021 destined for PAMX.
A Garmin 696 GPSMAP was recovered from the accident site, and the damaged GPS unit was shipped to the NTSB’s vehicle recorder laboratory in Washington D.C. A preliminary review of GPS data logs recovered from the unit revealed a date and time that did not correspond to the accident flight. However, a data log was discovered that corresponded to the last flight and ended near the accident location. That data log revealed that after departure, the airplane climbed to a GPS altitude of about 7,500 ft and continued on a southeast track for about 10 minutes with a groundspeed between 120 and 130 knots (kts). The data showed that, about 2 minutes before the accident, the airplane began a gradual right turn to the south and began a descent, which averaged about 859 ft per minute. The last fully recorded inflight data point was at 1050:52, when the airplane was at a GPS altitude of 5,715 ft with a groundspeed of 154 kts and on a track of 282°. (See Figure 1 - Preliminary GPS flight track data.)
Figure 1 – flight track
The wreckage was found scattered over mountainous tree-covered terrain northeast of Chitina on the north side of the Chitina River valley. The main wreckage included both wheel penetration skis, engine, firewall, main fuselage, instrument panel, and left wing. The debris field was about 642 ft long by about 430 ft wide and contained the separated empennage, right outboard wing, and right inboard wing. (See Figure 2 - Debris field.)
Figure 2 - Debris field
The Airglass, Inc., model LW3600 skis remained attached to their respective attach points, and all ski arresting cables, bungees, and rigging were intact and attached to their respective attach points. No preimpact mechanical anomalies were noted with the skis or their rigging. (See Figure 3 – Main wreckage site) Flight control continuity could not be established due to numerous separations in the
flight control system. The wreckage has been recovered for further examination.
Figure 3 - Main wreckage site note: both wheel penetration skis.
Two good samaritan pilots who responded to the accident site shortly after the accident reported a stratus layer of clouds in the vicinity of the accident that was moving eastward and dissipating with good visibility above and below the cloud layer with tops estimated at 4,000 to 5,000 ft above mean sea level (msl). Neither pilot reported turbulence, and one pilot who responded from PAGK reported no turbulence or significant winds aloft from the surface to 5,500 ft msl.
Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information
Aircraft Make: Cessna
Registration: N9725Z
Model/Series: 185 E
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Amateur Built: No
Operator:
Operating Certificate(s) Held: Commuter air carrier (135), On-demand air taxi (135)
Operator Designator Code:
Meteorological Information and Flight Plan
Conditions at Accident Site: VMC
Condition of Light: Day
Observation Facility, Elevation: PAGK, 1562 ft msl
Observation Time: 12:53 Local
Distance from Accident Site: 53 Nautical Miles
Temperature/Dew Point: -22°C /-26°C
Lowest Cloud Condition: Clear
Wind Speed/Gusts, Direction: / ,
Lowest Ceiling:
Visibility: 10 miles
Altimeter Setting: 30.26 inches Hg
Type of Flight Plan Filed: Company VFR
Departure Point: Glennallen, AK (PAGK)
Destination: McCarthy, AK (PMXY)
Wreckage and Impact Information
Crew Injuries: 1 Fatal
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Passenger Injuries: 1 Fatal
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries:
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 2 Fatal
Latitude, Longitude: 61.584722,-144.04583
Christopher Michael Maize
Christopher Michael Maize was born on March 11, 1975 in Mesa, Arizona and died unexpectedly on February 4, 2021 in a plane crash in the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.
Chris was a gentle, humble man of few words, yet he impacted many people during his life. He loved Jesus Christ with a fierce passion and sought to follow Him in everything he did. His single goal in life was to use his many talents of art, writing, music, leather working, engraving, gunsmithing, fly tying, and even knitting for God’s glory.
Chris graduated in 1993 from Camp Verde High School. He attended Yavapai College and studied Graphic Design.
Chris met his wife, Lari Gary in Phoenix and they were married in 2001. They were blessed with two daughters, Junior and Rusty, that were his absolute pride and joy.
Chris embodied the Alaskan spirit and one of his greatest passions, besides Jesus and his family, was flying. He was a conscientious and highly skilled pilot who was well respected in the Alaskan aviation community.
Chris flew the U.S. mail and passengers through the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park to remote McCarthy for Copper Valley Air Service.
He loved the peaceful solitude of flying in the winter surrounded by some of the highest mountains in the United States. He often commented how he had seen places only few people in the world had ever seen. He lived and died doing what he loved.
Christopher is survived by his wife, Lari; two daughters, Junior and Rusty; father, Ladd (Gwena); mother, Vickie (Kevin); brother, Sean; sisters, Allie and Kelly; nephews, Laddie and Sam; nieces, Giana and Gracie as well as numerous aunts, uncles and cousins. He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Bill and Betty Wright and Al and Jean Maize.
A memorial service was held on Saturday, February 20, 2021 at 2 pm at the Phillip England Center for the Performing Arts in Camp Verde, Arizona.
In lieu of flowers, donations are requested for the Christopher Maize Memorial Scholarship at
https://gofund.me/a4228173, to continue Chris’ life work of inspiring and blessing others.
For such a quiet man, the impact of his life speaks volumes. We are all better for knowing him and he will be missed every single day. But we are assured that he is with his Savior, Jesus Christ and that gives us hope and peace in such a difficult time.
Chris recently wrote down his life mission statement which said, “I am not my own. I exist for God’s pleasure and in that I will find my own. The gifts He has given me, flight, art, storytelling, resources and discernment…and any other blessing He chooses to bestow, I will strive to use for his glory. I will ask myself ‘How can I use this gift to share the love of Jesus to someone in the world’…not someday in the distant future, not even tomorrow, but ‘How can I show the love of Jesus through this gift Today!’ Without Jesus, nothing else matters. But with Jesus, nothing else matters!”
A pilot from Anchorage and Glennallen and a passenger from out of state were the two people killed in a plane crash last week in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska State Troopers said Thursday.
The Cessna 185 may have broken up in midair near Chitina on Feb. 4, according to a federal investigators. Pilot Christopher Maize, 45, and 36-year-old passenger Andrew Broders of Washington both died in the crash.
The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center was notified about the crash just before noon when an emergency locator transmitter was activated from the Copper Valley Air Service plane. The crash was in a remote, mountainous area roughly 13 miles northeast of Chitina and in a wooded section of a gradual slope, troopers wrote in an online report.
A crew from the rescue center flew to the area on the day of the crash and confirmed no one had survived. Officials returned to the site the next day but did not recover the bodies until Saturday, troopers said. An NTSB investigator was expected to reach the scene Tuesday and help with wreckage recovery, the organization said.
The plane, which also carried U.S. mail, was flying from Gulkana to McCarthy when it crashed.
Rescuers described the debris as being in two distinct locations, which could indicate the airplane may have broken apart in flight, said Clint Johnson, Alaska chief for the National Transportation Safety Board. Midair breakups are uncommon and often involve bad weather. Johnson said investigators are looking into the weather, but that it did not appear to be an immediate factor.
In an
online fundraiser, Maize was described by friends as “a gentle, kind and humble man who was a diligent and careful pilot who loved sharing Alaska and the National Park with visitors.”
The Copper Valley Air Service is family owned and based at Gulkana Airport in Glennallen, according to the company website. The company specializes in flightseeing tours, air taxi and charter services, backcountry or hunting drop offs in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Copper River Basin and McCarthy to Kennicott.
