Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

May Creek, Alaska 99695
Thursday, September 12, 1996 18:00 AKD

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot and the sole passenger departed on a sheep hunting trip in remote mountainous terrain. The flight did not return and was reported overdue 4 days later. Search personnel located a weak ELT signal on the 5th day and the wreckage was located at 5,300 feet mean sea level. The airplane, powered by a 90 horsepower engine, was found heavily loaded with hunting and camping equipment. Center of gravity (CG) calculations, not including any fuel calculation, indicated the airplane was loaded beyond the aft CG limit. No evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunction was found.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

failure of the pilot to maintain adequate airspeed, while maneuvering and/or flying at low altitude, which resulted in a stall and collision with the terrain. A factor relating to the accident was: the pilot allowed the weight and balance (aft center-of-gravity) limitation to be exceeded.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/12/1996
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1800
Event Time Zone --
Event City MAY CREEK
Event State ALASKA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 99695
Event Date Year 1996
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 Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1845 Atlantic Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 270
Weather Observation Facility ID PAM
Elevation of weather observation facility 1531
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 28
Time Zone of the weather observation ADT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 7000
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) 25
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 12
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 8
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 350
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
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) 685
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Sep 16 1996 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2348
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 10:20AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N9061B
NTSB Number ANC96FA158
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 Champion
Aircraft Model 7EC
Aircraft Series Identifier 7EC
Aircraft Serial Number 7EC
Certified Max Gross Weight 1450
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 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jun 6 1996 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 23
Airframe Hours 1800
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Yes
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name PETER M. MURPHY
Aircraft Owner Street Address P.O. BOX 3596
Aircraft Owner City VALDEZ
Aircraft Owner State AK
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 99686
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
Owner has at least one certificate None
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 No
Departure Airport Code CXC
Departure City CHITINA
Departure State AK
Departure Country
Departure Time 0
Departure Time Zone
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
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 --