# NTSB ANC05LA094: Bellanca 7GCAA, N8626V, Whittier, AK, July 3, 2005 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: July 2, 2005, 21:00 local (Jul 3, 2005, 05:00 UTC) - Place: Whittier, AK - Coordinates: 60.799999, -148.483337 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=60.8000&lon=-148.4833&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Maneuvering](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/450) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report January 31, 2006 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - Parties: FAA-AL-ANC FSDO 03 - NTSB case key (mKey): 61921 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC05LA094 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/61921/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC05LA094 ## Probable cause The pilot's becoming lost/disoriented while maneuvering due to inadequate in-flight planning/decision making, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and a forced landing in tree-covered terrain. A factor contributing to the accident was fuel exhaustion. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Miscellaneous/other, maneuvering - became lost/disoriented, pilot in command (cause) - in-flight planning/decision - inadequate, pilot in command (cause) - Loss of engine power(total) - nonmechanical, cruise - fluid,fuel - exhaustion (contributing factor) - Forced landing, emergency descent/landing - In flight collision with object, emergency descent/landing - object - tree(s) ## Analysis The commercial certificated pilot departed on a Title 14, CFR Part 91 personal flight in an area of coastal shoreline and glaciers in a wheel-equipped airplane that did not have any navigational equipment, other than a magnetic compass. The pilot said that during the flight, the compass became erratic and was not providing accurate information. The pilot indicated that he attempted to find his location, but was unable to accurately fix his position. He made several radio calls on a variety of frequencies, and finally made radio contact with an FAA flight service station as he was circling over a beach under about a 500 foot ceiling. He reported that he was lost, and the airplane had minimum fuel. A Coast Guard helicopter was dispatched to the area and located the airplane about 17 miles from an airport. The two aircraft flew toward the airport, but the airplane's engine quit when the fuel supply was exhausted. The pilot made an emergency landing in a partial clearing that contained small trees, and the airplane received structural damage to the wings and fuselage. ## Factual narrative On July 2, 2005, about 2100 Alaska daylight time, a wheel-equipped Bellanca 7GCAA airplane, N8626V, sustained substantial damage when it collided with trees and terrain during a forced landing following fuel exhaustion, about 6.5 miles northeast of Whittier, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) cross-country personal flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. The airplane was owned by Alaska Star Flying Club, Eagle River, Alaska, and operated by the pilot. The commercial certificated pilot, and the sole passenger, were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight originated at the Birchwood Airport, Chugiak, Alaska, about 1700, for a flight to Girdwood, Alaska. No flight plan was filed, nor was one required. At 2015, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) was notified by the Federal Aviation Administration Regional Operations Center, that the accident airplane was airborne in the area of the Prince William Sound. The pilot of the airplane was in radio communication with the Juneau Flight Service Station, Juneau, Alaska, and was reporting that he was lost, and the airplane had minimum fuel. A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter, utilizing on-board direction finding equipment, was able to locate the airplane near Wells Passage, about 17 miles east-northeast of Whittier, and began to escort it toward Whittier. About 2100, the airplane's fuel supply was exhausted, and the pilot made an emergency landing from about 1,500 feet msl in a partial clearing near the shoreline. The airplane struck several small trees in the process of landing. After the landing, the pilot and passengers boarded the Coast Guard helicopter, and were transported to Anchorage, Alaska. During a telephone conversation with the NTSB IIC on July 3, the pilot reported that the airplane did not have any navigational equipment other than a compass. The intent of the flight was to sight-see in the area of the Columbia Glacier, and then proceed to Girdwood. The pilot said that during the flight, the compass became erratic and was not providing accurate information, and at one point, turned 180 degrees. The pilot indicated that he attempted to find his location, but was unable to accurately fix his position. He made several radio calls on a variety of frequencies, including 121.5 MHz, and finally made radio contact with the Juneau Flight Service Station as he was circling over a beach under about a 500 foot ceiling. When the Coast Guard helicopter arrived, the two aircraft proceeded toward Whittier, but the airplane's engine quit when the fuel supply was exhausted. The pilot said he made a dead-stick landing in a partial clearing that contained small trees, and the airplane received structural damage to the wings and fuselage. At 2047, an Aviation Routine Weather Report (METAR) at Whittier was reporting, in part: Wind, 150 degrees (true) at 3 knots; visibility, 20 statute miles; clouds and sky condition, few at 2,000 feet, 3,000 feet overcast; temperature, 57 degrees F; dew point, 50 degrees F; altimeter, 29.73 inHg. The pilot did not submit a Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120.1). ## Aircraft - Registration: [N8626V](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N8626V), registered now, S/N 312-75, built 1975 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Bellanca 7GCAA - Registry model: [Bellanca 7GCAA](https://openairdocs.org/model/bellanca-7gcaa) (registry code 1220501) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-320 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (registry code 41508, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 312-75 - Engines: Lycoming O-320-A2B 150 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Matthew L. Gallagher - Registered owner: Alaska Star Flying Club LLC. - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Departed: PABV, Chugiak, AK - Destination: AQY, Girdwood, AK ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 27; injuries: none; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, with waivers/limitations; flight hours: 759 total ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 150° at 3 knots - Visibility: 20 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 3,000 ft overcast - Temperature: 57 °F, dew point 50 °F - Altimeter: 29.72 inHg - Observed at: PAWR, 7 nm away ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20050703015609A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20050703015609A), Jul 3, 2005: Bbavia 7GCAA, Whittier, AK, Substantial damage. (-23) While on a VFR flight seeing tour in the columbia glacier, AK area the pilot got lost ran out of fuel and crashed in the muskeg aprox. 7 mile east of… ## Other investigations on N8626V (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 DEN83LA176](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN83LA176), Jul 24, 1983: Bellanca 7GCAA (N8626V), Elbert, CO, substantial damage 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. --- 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.