# Accident 20160420008349A: Cessna 172P, Chugiak, AK, April 20, 2016

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 20, 2016, 09:00 local time
- Place: Chugiak, AK
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Maneuver
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 61.3886° N, 149.5617° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=61.3886&lon=-149.5617&mi=10
- Aircraft: N63541, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N63541-2017-10-30) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 172P (registry code 2072436, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172p) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-320 series (registry code 41508, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 172P
- Reported engine: LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES
- People aboard: 4
- Fatal injuries: 4
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Airline transport, flight instructor
- Pilot flight hours: 11,700 total, 25 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ANC16FA019](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC16FA019) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20160420008349A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

THE AIRCRAFT DEPARTED BIRCHWOOD AIRPORT AT APPROXIMATELY 0845 ALASKA DAYLIGHT TIME.  THE FLIGHT WAS BEING CONDUCTED FOR AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY AND HAD FOUR PEOPLE ONBOARD.  AT APPROXIMATELY 0900 ALASKA DAYLIGHT TIME THE AIRCRAFT CRASHED INTO A HEAVILY WOODED AREA COMING TO REST AT THE BASE OF A MATURE SPRUCE TREE APPROXIMATELY TWO MILES SOUTHWEST OF THE AIRPORT.  THE AIRCRAFT WAS AIRBORNE APPROXIMATELY 15 MINUTES, DURING WHICH TIME IT COMPLETED A SERIES OF TURNS IN THE AREA TO THE WEST OF THE AIRPORT BEFORE DEPARTING TO AN AREA APPROXIMATELY FOUR MILES NORTHEAST OF THE AIRPORT AND THEN RETURNING.  THE LAST POSITION OBTAINED BY RADAR DATA SHOWS THE AIRCRAFT AT APPROXIMATELY 900 FEET WITH AN AIRSPEED OF 101 KNOTS AND A HEADING OF 110 DEGREES.  THE DEBRIS FIELD SHOWS THE AIRCRAFT ENTERED THE TREES AT A GLIDE ANGLE OF APPROXIMATELY 20-30 DEGREES AND A HEADING OF APPROXIMATELY 275 DEGREES INDICATING THE AIRCRAFT MADE A NEAR 180 DEGREE TURN TO THE LEFT PRIOR TO ENTERING THE TREES.  THE AIRCRAFT HAD SUFFICIENT FORWARD SPEED FOR FLIGHT BASED ON EVALUATION OF THE FLIGHT PATH AND THE LENGTH OF THE DEBRIS FIELD WHICH WAS APPROXIMATELY 150 YARDS. ON-SITE EVALUATION OF FLIGHT CONTROL CABLES REVEALED NO ANOMALIES THAT WOULD HAVE PREVENTED PILOT MANIPULATION OF FLIGHT CONTROL SURFACES.  THE AIRCRAFT PROPELLER SHOWED SIGNS THAT THE ENGINE WAS MAKING POWER DURING THE ACCIDENT SEQUENCE.  SUBSEQUENT TEAR DOWN OF THE ENGINE REVEALED NO EVIDENCE TO SUGGEST THE ENGINE EXPERIENCED A MALFUNCTION.  ALTHOUGH A POST-CRASH FIRE DESTROYED MOST OF THE CABIN AREA, THE AIRCRAFT EMPENNAGE WAS SEPARATED FROM THE MAIN STRUCTURE AND REMAINED LARGELY INTACT.  FOREIGN MATERIAL FOUND ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE EMPENNAGE AND VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL STABILIZERS WAS COLLECTED FOR FORENSIC EXAMINATION AND WAS FOUND TO BE THAT OF A JUVENILE BALD EAGLE.

## 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 ANC16FA019](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC16FA019), Apr 20, 2016: Cessna 172 (N63541), Chugiak, AK, substantial damage, 4 fatal. Probable cause: The in-flight collision with one or more large birds (Bald Eagle), which resulted in a loss of airplane control.

## Other reports on N63541 (3)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Incident 20100803055509I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20100803055509I), Aug 3, 2010: Cessna 172P (N63541), Kenai, AK, No damage. Student pilot flew into IMC conditions, contacted ATC, received radar assistance back into VMC conditions and landed safely.
- [Accident 20030704037289A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20030704037289A), Jul 4, 2003: Cessna 172P (N63541), Seldovia, AK, Substantial damage. (-23) During the landing roll out on runway 16 at Seldovia Airport the pilot applied brakes resulting in the aircraft yawing to the left. The pilot released…
- [Accident 19910207002979A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19910207002979A), Feb 7, 1991: Cessna 172P (N63541), Anchorage, AK, Substantial damage. Lost control on a touch and go. Veered off runway into a snowbank and nosed over.

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.

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