| Crash location | 61.194444°N, 152.027500°W
Reported location is a long distance from the NTSB's reported nearest city. This often means that the location has a typo, or is incorrect. |
| Nearest city | Tyonek, AK
61.068056°N, 151.136944°W 31.0 miles away |
| Tail number | N1905A |
|---|---|
| Accident date | 23 Aug 2017 |
| Aircraft type | Piper PA-18 |
| Additional details: | None |
On August 23, 2017, about 2245 Alaska daylight time, a tundra tire-equipped Piper PA-18 airplane, N1905A, was destroyed after impacting remote tree-covered terrain while en route to Merrill Field, Anchorage, Alaska about 31 miles northwest of Tyonek, Alaska. The pilot, the only occupant, died at the scene. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 visual flight rules personal flight. Dark night, visual meteorological conditions were reported at the Kenai Municipal Airport, Kenai, Alaska about 8 minutes after the accident time, and no flight plan was filed. The Kenai Municipal Airport is located about 44 miles southeast of the accident site.
The flight originated from a remote airstrip in mountainous terrain near Telaquana Lake, located in the Lake Clark National Park and Preserve.
In a conversion with the wife of the pilot on August 28, she reported to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) that the purpose of the flight was for a solo sheep hunting trip. The pilot departed from Merrill Field on August 19 about 1630 and arrived at the remote airstrip about 1930. The wife reported the length of the hunting trip was open ended, with no set return date. On August 23, about 2100 the pilot contacted the wife via a satellite phone and asked her to retrieve various weather information. The wife instructed the pilot to call her back in about 5 minutes and she would provide him the requested weather information. The pilot never called the wife back. About 2220, the wife reported that she received a text message from the pilot stating he was flying over Kenibuna Lake and he should be home around 2300.
Sunset on the day of the accident was 2137; the end of civil twilight was 2227.
About 2245, the U.S. Air Force Alaska Rescue Coordination Center received a 406 MHz emergency locator transmitter (ELT) signal.
On August 24, a U.S. Air Force HH-60G helicopter was dispatched to the 406 MHz ELT coordinates and confirmed the location of the wreckage about 0625, located in remote-tree covered terrain about 1 quarter mile south of the Chakachatna River. On August 24, the NTSB IIC and the Alaska State Troopers traveled to the accident site via helicopter. The wreckage was recovered and transported to a secure facility for future examination of the airframe and engine.