# Accident 20100824044399A: Piper PA-11, Anchorage, AK, August 24, 2010 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: August 24, 2010, 19:45 local time - Place: Anchorage, AK - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Maneuver - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 60.5047° N, 150.5519° W: From the FAA - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=60.5047&lon=-150.5519&mi=10 - Aircraft: N78831, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N78831) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Piper PA-11 (registry code 7101102, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-11) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Continental C90 series (registry code 17009, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-c90-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA-11 - Reported engine: CONT MOTOR C90 SERIES - People aboard: 2 - Fatal injuries: 2 - Other injuries: 0 - Pilot certificates: Private pilot - Pilot flight hours: 230 total, 100 in this make and model, 100 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB ANC10FA076](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC10FA076) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20100824044399A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. NTSB IDENTIFICATION: ANC10FA07614 CFR PART 91: GENERAL AVIATIONACCIDENT OCCURRED TUESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2010 NEAR ANCHORAGE, AKAIRCRAFT: PIPER PA-11, REGISTRATION: N78831INJURIES: 2 FATAL. ON AUGUST 24, 2010, AT 2145 ALASKA DAYLIGHT TIME, N78831, A PIPER PA-11 SINGLE ENGINE NORMAL CATEGORY AIRPLANE WAS DESTROYED WHEN IT COLLIDED WITH TERRAIN WHILE MANEUVERING OVER THE SUSITNA RIVER, 30 MILES NORTHWEST OF ANCHORAGE ALASKA. THE PRIVATE PILOT CERTIFICATED AIRMAN WITH SINGLE ENGINE LAND AND SEA RATING AS WELL AS A PASSENGER WERE FATALLY INJURED. THE AIRPLANE WAS REGISTERED TO AND OPERATED BY BRANDON CHRISTOPHER REILEY OF ANCHORAGE, ALASKA. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED FOR THE FLIGHT THAT ORIGINATED AT THE LAKE HOOD STRIP AIRPORT (Z41), ANCHORAGE, ALASKA, AND WAS DESTINED FOR RAINY PASS LODGE AIRPORT (6AK), ALASKA. A FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED FOR THE PERSONAL FLIGHT CONDUCTED UNDER 14 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS PART 91. BRANDON C REILEY, PILOTING PIPER PA-11 N78831, TOOK OFF FROM Z41, LAKE HOOD STRIP, ON 8/24/2010 AT APPROXIMATELY 1750 ADT WITH ONE PASSENGER ON BOARD. PIPER N78831 HAD FILED A FLIGHT PLAN WITH KENAI FSS AND WAS ENROUTE TO 6AK, RAINY PASS LODGE AIRPORT. AT APPROXIMATELY 1945 ADT THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED TERRAIN, FATALY INJURING THE PILOT AND HIS PASSENGER. THE ALASKA AIR NATIONAL GUARD WAS FLYING A HH-60 PAVE HAWK HELICOPTER AND A HC-130 PLANE ON A TRAINING FLIGHT ABOVE BIG LAKE ALASKA WHEN THEY HEARD A SIGNAL FROM THE PIPER'S EMERGENCY BEACON JUST BEFORE 2000 ADT. SMOKE PLUMES ROSE FROM THE ACCIDENT SITE, WHICH INVESTIGATORS PLACE AT LEAST 200 FEET FROM THE BIG SUSITNA RIVER. THE PAVE HAWK HELICOPTER SOON LANDED, AND THE CREW USED FIRE EXTINGUISHERS IN AN EFFORT TO EXTINGUISH THE FLAMES. A SECOND NATIONAL GUARD HELICOPTER ARRIVED SHORTLY AFTER. PARARESCUEMEN FOUND TWO BODIES IN THE WRECKAGE. NTSB IIC JOSH CAWTHRA ALONG WITH FAA IIC TONY FISHER ARRIVED AT THE SCENE AT APPROXIMATELY 1247 ADT ON 8/25/2010. THE INVESTIGATION FOUND THAT THE AIRCRAFT HAD STRUCK NOSE-FIRST INTO LEVEL TERRAIN. THE AIRCRAFT WAS OBSERVED LYING FLAT IN AN INVERTED POSITION. THE ACCIDENT SITE CONSISTED OF A SUSITNA RIVER SANDBAR NEAR MOUNT SUSITNA, ABOUT 25 MILES NORTHWEST OF ANCHORAGE ALASKA. THERE WERE MOOSE TRACKS OBSERVED IN THE IMEDIATE VACINITY OF THE ACCIDENT SITE. AT APPROXIMATELY 1944 ADT ON 8/24/2010, PIPER N78831 WAS OBSERVED BY WESTON MCARTOR OF CODY WYOMING, FLYING ALONG THE SUSITNA RIVER AT A LOW ALTITUDE OF APPROXIMATELY 50-75 FEET AGL. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ TOOK A 7-8 SECOND VIDEO OF THE AIRPLANE PASS BY AT 2144 ADT. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ STATED, "NOT BEING FROM ALASKA, I WILL DO MY BEST TO DESCRIBE WHERE WE WERE, IF YOU WERE TO FOLLOW THE MAIN CHANNEL DOWN RIVER IN FRONT OF THE CRASH SITE IT BENDS TO THE LEFT, THEN TO THE RIGHT, WE WERE ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE RIVER ON A SAND BAR JUST BEFORE IT OPENS INTO A LARGER EXPANSE OF WATER, IT APPEARED THAT IN THE HIGHER WATER THERE WAS A SMALL CHANNEL THAT WENT THROUGH THERE. WE HEARD THE PLANE COMING UP RIVER AND VERY LOW, BEING A LITTLE UNUSUAL FOR OUR COUNTRY I VIDEO HIS PASSING US. EVERYTHING SOUNDED FINE, I WAS AN AIRCRAFT MECH IN THE MILITARY AND DIDN'T HEAR OR SEE ANYTHING THAT INDICATED A PROBLEM. THERE WAS A MOOSE ON THAT SAME ISLAND AS THE CRASH, WE'D WATCH HIM AND A BROWN BEAR THERE A OUT 30 MINUTES BEFORE. MY VIDEO TIME SHOWS 9:44 (MOUNTAIN TIME ZONE),(7:44 P.M. ADT) WHICH WAS LESS THAN A MINUTE FROM THE IMPACT. WE HEARD THE SOUND BUT HAD NO IDEA IT WAS THE CRASH AND DIDN'T THINK ANYTHING OF IT UNTIL THE PAVE HAWKS SHOWED UP. PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF I CAN BE OF FURTHER ASSISTANCE." ## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB ANC10FA076](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC10FA076), Aug 25, 2010: Piper PA-11 (N78831), Willow, AK, substantial damage, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot’s failure to maintain adequate airspeed, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall/spin and impact with the ground. From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.