# NTSB ANC16LA011: Cessna 172, N914CP, Anchorage, AK, December 29, 2015 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Fatal · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: December 29, 2015, 06:18 local (15:18 UTC) - Place: Anchorage, AK - Coordinates: 61.219165, -149.902496 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=61.2192&lon=-149.9025&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Maneuvering](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/450) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Maneuvering: Security/criminal event](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/350) - Highest injury: Fatal - Injuries: 1 fatal - Status: Completed, report June 29, 2016 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - Parties: FAA - NTSB case key (mKey): 92513 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC16LA011 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/92513/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=92513 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC16LA011 ## Probable cause The pilot's intentional flight into a building. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Intentional act: suicide](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02051015): Personnel issues › Miscellaneous · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 172S, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02051015/cases.md?model=2072439), [All aircraft, 23 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02051015/cases.md) - [Not determined](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000): Not determined › Not determined · Other authority investigated (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 172S, 25 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000/cases.md?model=2072439), [All aircraft, 2,247 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Maneuvering: Security/criminal event](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/350) (defining event); cases with it: [Cessna 172S, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/350/sequence.md?model=2072439), [All aircraft, 27 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/350/sequence.md) - [Other: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [Cessna 172S, 118 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=2072439), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis Witnesses reported seeing the airplane flying in an easterly direction at a very low altitude before striking the northwest corner of an office building. The airplane's wreckage continued traveling east while descending into an adjacent office building and subsequently struck an electrical transformer. A postcrash fire consumed the airplane wreckage. The private pilot intentionally flew the airplane into the side of the building, and he was killed. The flight was not authorized and the event was an intentional act, so the Federal Bureau of Investigation assumed jurisdiction and control of the investigation. ## Factual narrative On December 29, 2015, about 0618 Alaska standard time, a Cessna 172 airplane, N914CP, was destroyed after impacting the side of an office building in Anchorage, Alaska. The private pilot sustained fatal injuries. The airplane was registered to the Civil Air Patrol (CAP), Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery, Alabama, and operated by the pilot under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. Dark night, visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan had been filed. The flight originated from Merrill Field, Anchorage, about 0600. Witnesses reported seeing the airplane flying in an easterly direction and very low over the city of Anchorage, just before striking the northwest corner of the office building. The airplane's right wing struck the building between the fourth and fifth floors, which severed the entire wing at the fuselage attachment points. The airplane's wreckage continued traveling east while descending into an adjacent office building. It subsequently struck an electrical transformer, and a postcrash fire incinerated the airplane wreckage. The FAA Civil Aeromedical Institute performed toxicology examinations for the pilot on February 9, 2016, which detected the presence of the drug Zolpidem in the liver and kidney. According to the US National Library of Medicine, Zolpidem is a prescription medication used to treat insomnia and belongs to a class of medications called sedative-hypnotics that work by slowing activity in the brain to allow sleep. A postmortem examination conducted by the Alaska State Medical Examiner's Office on December 30, 2015, determined the cause of death to multiple blunt force injuries. The closest weather reporting facility is Merrill Field Airport, Anchorage, about 2 miles east of the accident site. At 0553, an aviation routine weather report (METAR) from the Merrill Field Airport was reporting in part: Wind from 170 degrees at 8 knots, gusting to 18 knots; sky condition few clouds at 7,000 feet; visibility 10 statute miles; temperature 48 degrees F, dew point 26 degrees F; altimeter 29.57 inHg. According to CAP management personnel the flight had not been authorized. The Anchorage office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has assumed jurisdiction and control of the investigation. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N914CP](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N914CP-2017-03-21), registration cancelled 2017-03-21, S/N 172S8334, built 1999 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 172 - Registry model: [Cessna 172S](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172s) (registry code 2072439) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming I0360 SER A&C](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-i0360-ser-a-c) (registry code 41511, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 172S8334 - Year built: 1999 - Airframe hours: 2074.2 - Engines: LYCOMING IO360 SER A&C 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Destroyed - Fire: On-Ground - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, June 12, 2015, 75 hours before - Departed: MRI, ANCHORAGE, AK - Destination: MRI, ANCHORAGE, AK - Airport: MRI, Merrill Field - Equipment: Stall warning system ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 42; injuries: fatal; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, with waivers/limitations; seat: left; flight hours: 140 total ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Night - Wind: 170° at 8 knots, gusting 18 - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 20,000 ft overcast - Temperature: 48 °F, dew point 27 °F - Altimeter: 29.56 inHg - Turbulence: Unknown - Observed at: PAMR, 1 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 20151229020369A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20151229020369A), Dec 29, 2015: Cessna 172S, Anchorage, AK, Destroyed, 1 fatal. The Anchorage police department notified FAA investigators at the scene of the accident that the airman who crashed the airplane was considered to be suicidal.… ## Docket (2 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 5, 2016, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=92513. 2.1 MB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 2.0 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40439784&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Master.PDF - Toxicological Report (item 2, .PDF, 74 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40439785&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Toxicological%20Report-Master.PDF 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.