20190628008369A

The float-equipped, Maule M-6-235 airplane sustained substantial damage following a loss of control and impact with steep, mountainous terrain. At the time of the accident, the pilot was using a garmin gpsmap 496 GPS receiver, capable of storing route-of-flight data.

The NTSB iic reviewed the archived GPS data logs for June 28, 2019, revealing that, about 1602 the airplane crossed Moose Pass at a GPS altitude of about 2,000 ft. the airplane continued northwest along the sterling highway at various GPS altitudes between 1,700 ft and 2,400 ft. about 1606, after passing the intersection of the sterling and seward highways, a right 180° turn was initiated to the southeast, and shortly thereafter, the airplane began a descent to a GPS altitude of 1,215 ft. at 1607:00, the airplane began a left turn towards a northerly heading and initiated a climb. At 1607:34, the airplane was on a track of 354°, at an altitude of 2,032 ft and a groundspeed of 37 knots. The last fully recorded in-flight data point was at 1608:01, when the airplane was at a GPS altitude of 1,587 ft and 0 knot groundspeed on a track of 282°. The airplane impacted in a near vertical attitude at an elevation of about 1,546 ft mean sea level, on a heading of about 314°.