ANC95LA082

The pilot reported he entered a mountain pass after waiting for the weather to improve. He said that part way through the pass, the cloud conditions lowered very rapidly, and he lost visual reference with a river or its tributary that he was following. He attempted to turn around and leave the pass, but saw rising terrain directly ahead. He leveled the wings and applied full power in an attempt to out-climb the terrain, but was unable. The airplane crash landed on the uphill terrain. The pilot and three passengers were rescued the following day.

On June 24, 1995, about 1630 Alaska daylight time, a Cessna 172 airplane, N4278Q, sustained substantial damage when it collided with terrain in Anaktuvuk Pass, located approximately 26 miles north of Anaktuvuk, Alaska. The private pilot and one of the three passengers aboard were not injured; the remaining two passengers received minor injuries. The personal flight was en route to Fairbanks, Alaska, with an intermediate stop at Umiat, Alaska. The pilot had filed a VFR flight plan upon departing Barrow. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the crash site.

The pilot reported he entered Anaktuvuk Pass and noticed deteriorating weather conditions. He turned around and returned to Umiat to wait for better weather conditions.

The pilot monitored the weather from Umiat via the Fairbanks Flight Service Station, and received a report that the weather as observed by an Automated Weather Observation Station in Anaktuvuk Pass was 3,600 broken, with ten miles visibility. He also received a pilot report indicating that the pass was flyable. He elected to depart Umiat about 1545, and entered Anaktuvuk Pass. About 1630, the weather conditions in the pass suddenly deteriorated, and the pilot said he was unable to see the river he was following or its tributaries. He tried a 180 degree turn to return to Umiat. He said he was unable to complete the turn due to a steep hill directly in front of him. He said he levelled the airplane's wings, and climbed at full power. The airplane was unable to climb faster than the rising terrain, and soon crashed heading uphill.

The emergency locator transmitter did not activate during the crash sequence. It was manually activated, and Search and Rescue flew over the site within 90 minutes of the accident. Due to the poor weather, rescue personnel could reach the crash site until 0400 the next day (6/25).