Aviat A-1B N57HY

Summary

On 19 December 2002 at about 16:30 local time, a Aviat A-1B registered N57HY was involved in an accident near King Salmon, Alaska, United States. 2 people were on board and one died, one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

19 December 2002 at 16:30

Classification

Accident

Location

King Salmon, Alaska, United States

Coordinates

56.9605, -158.5797

Aircraft

Aviat A-1B

Registration

N57HY

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Public Use

Purpose of flight

Public Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

King Salmon → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC03GA020

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed which resulted in an in-flight collision with terrain.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The tundra tire-equipped airplane was being operated as a local, visual flight rules, public use, game management flight for the purpose of locating moose with data collection collars. According to the airplane's operator, a typical flight would require the pilot and observer to locate a collared moose, and then fly in the immediate vicinity of the moose to enable the equipment aboard the airplane to relay data from the moose's collar to a ground-based data collection site. There was no data transmission in progress at the time of the accident, however fresh moose foot prints were observed within 50 yards of the accident site. An on-site inspection of the airplane disclosed ground scars and crush lines on the airplane consistent with a near-vertical impact. The inspection disclosed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical anomalies with the airframe or engine, and a readout of data stored in the engine monitoring system installed on the airplane indicated that the engine had adequate fuel flow and combustion. The observer received head injuries in the accident, and was unable to provide any information about the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.