Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Petersburg, Alaska 99833
Thursday, September 14, 1995 14:00 AKD

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot was transporting himself and his hunting partner with their gear to a hunting site that was located nearby. The airplane was reported overdue, and the airplane wreckage was located in a pass, on a glacier, at the 3,450 foot level. The airplane impacted terrain in a near vertical attitude. The route of flight was from the southeast to the northwest. The wreckage was aligned along a 315 degree magnetic heading. Weather in the area, as reported by the Coast Guard Search and Rescue personnel, was ceiling at 4,000 feet with fog moving down from the glacier. No mechanical anomalies were found with the airplane or engine.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain sufficient airspeed above the airplane's stall speed. The high terrain and low ceiling (clouds) were related factors.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/14/1995
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1400
Event Time Zone --
Event City PETERSBURG
Event State ALASKA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 99833
Event Date Year 1995
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Witness
Time of the weather observation 0
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 4000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 13
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 0
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal 2
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1612
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Sep 14 1995 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1917
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 7 2000 4:34PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Unknown
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N90033
NTSB Number ANC95FA167
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name CESSNA
Aircraft Model 185
Aircraft Series Identifier 185
Aircraft Serial Number 185-1502
Certified Max Gross Weight 3320
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 6
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Aug 31 1995 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 17
Airframe Hours 7780
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Yes
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name AARON A. MEARIG
Aircraft Owner Street Address 713 WRANGELL AVE
Aircraft Owner City PETERSBURG
Aircraft Owner State AK
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 99833
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code A94A
Owner has at least one certificate Yes - certificate holder
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code PSG
Departure City
Departure State AK
Departure Country
Departure Time 1300
Departure Time Zone ADT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code
Destination City FARRAGUT LAKE
Destination State AK
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --