Maule M-7-235 N5662S

Summary

On 17 October 2002 at about 18:20 local time, a Maule M-7-235 registered N5662S was involved in an accident near Wrangell, Alaska, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

17 October 2002 at 18:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Wrangell, Alaska, United States

Coordinates

56.1681, -132.1850

Aircraft

Maule M-7-235

Registration

N5662S

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Wrangell → Wrangell

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC03LA003

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot's inadequate weather evaluation, his continued flight into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), and his failure to maintain adequate altitude/clearance from terrain/water, which resulted in a collision with water while maneuvering. Factors associated with the accident were fog and glassy water conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The solo private pilot was departing in a float-equipped airplane for a flight over an area of open ocean water. During a phone interview the day after the accident, the pilot said that just after takeoff, while crossing a 1-mile wide channel of open water, he encountered a fog bank. He noted that the ocean water was "as smooth as glass." As the flight progressed, the visibility deteriorated to a point that he elected to turn around. During a left 180 degree turn, the airplane descended, collided with the ocean, broke apart, and sank. In the pilot's written statement to the NTSB, the pilot said that he suspected that the floats of the airplane had been sabotaged, which allowed water to enter the floats, which in turn extended the airplane's takeoff roll, and precipitated his encounter with the fog bank. In a written statement to the NTSB, a witness who could hear, but not see the accident airplane's takeoff, wrote, in part: "The fog at that time was so heavy and so thick that our dock, which is about 75 feet from where I was standing, was a slight shadow. It would have been zero visibility." The airplane wreckage sank in ocean waters estimated to be between 150 to 250 feet deep and has not been recovered.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.