# NTSB ANC98LA165: Maule ML-7, N6110C, Wasilla, AK, September 30, 1998 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: September 29, 1998, 18:14 local (Sep 30, 1998, 02:14 UTC) - Place: Wasilla, AK - Location: 61.5785° N, 149.4763° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Wasilla, AK, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=61.5785&lon=-149.4763&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Approach](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/500) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Serious injuries - Injuries: 1 serious - Status: Completed, report February 16, 2001 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - NTSB case key (mKey): 44084 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC98LA165 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/44084/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC98LA165 ## Probable cause The pilot's inadequate compensation for the wind conditions, resulting in an inadvertent stall. Contributing factors were the gusty and turbulent weather conditions. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - In flight encounter with weather, approach - vfr pattern - final approach - weather condition - gusts (contributing factor) - weather condition - turbulence (contributing factor) - Loss of control - in flight, approach - vfr pattern - final approach - compensation for wind conditions - inadequate, pilot in command (cause) - stall - inadvertent, pilot in command - In flight collision with terrain/water, descent - uncontrolled ## Analysis The pilot told the NTSB investigator-in-charge that he was returning from a hunting lodge with a load of moose meat. He indicated that there were no mechanical problems with the airplane, and the winds at cruise were 45 miles per hour. He described being on final approach to land, at 500 feet above the ground, and encountering a 'hellacious wind which tossed the airplane around like a leaf.' Witnesses on the ground described 'very windy conditions,' and 'the plane spinning into the water.' Weather observations from a station located five miles southwest of the accident site recorded surface winds gusting to 25 knots at the time of the accident. The weather forecast was for moderate to severe turbulence within 2,000 feet of the surface, and winds from the north gusting to 25 knots. ## Factual narrative On September 29, 1998, at 1814 Alaska daylight time, a float equipped Maule ML-7 airplane, N6110C, sustained substantial damage when it impacted water in Scott Lake, Wasilla, Alaska. The solo commercial pilot sustained serious injuries. The airplane was owned and operated by the pilot. The flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91 as a business flight carrying moose meat from a hunting lodge. The flight departed the Mystic Lake Lodge, about 10 miles northeast of Farewell, Alaska, about 1645, and was returning to the pilot's home base on Island Lake, Wasilla. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed. The pilot, hospitalized with spinal fractures, told the NTSB investigator-in-charge (IIC) during a telephone interview on October 1, that while on his return leg, the winds were from the north about 45 miles per hour. He described being about 500 feet above the ground (agl), on final approach to Island Lake, when he remembered a "hellacious wind." The wind "tossed the airplane around like a leaf, turned the airplane up on its side, and on its nose." He said that about 100 feet agl he thought he was pointed straight down, and that he did not remember the impact. The pilot did not recall any mechanical problems with the airplane. He confirmed these observations during a second interview on October 9. A witness who observed the accident told an FAA inspector who arrived at the accident scene an hour after the accident, that he heard the airplane "coughing and sputtering" as it came over the trees. The witness said the airplane "entered a right turn, then spun into the water." A second witness who lives on Scott Lake described the conditions as "very windy, with swirls around the lake." The National Weather Service Area Forecast for Cook Inlet and the Susitna Valley, Alaska, valid at the time of the accident, called for surface winds from the north gusting to 20-25 knots, occasional moderate turbulence below 8,000 feet, and isolated severe turbulence within 2,000 feet of the surface. These conditions were forecast to intensify. The automated weather at New Wasilla airport, located five miles southwest of the accident, at 1800, recorded winds from 020 degrees at 15 knots, with peak gusts of 25 knots. At 1735, the weather observation at Talkeetna, Alaska, located about 40 miles northwest of the accident, included winds from 020 degrees at 12 knots, gusting to 21 knots. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N6110C](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N6110C), registered now, S/N 4049C, built 1987 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Maule ML-7 - Registry model: [Maule M-7-235](https://openairdocs.org/model/maule-m-7-235) (registry code 5470208) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming IO-540 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-io-540-series) (registry code 41530, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 4049C - Airframe hours: 560 - Engines: Lycoming IO-540 300 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Business, Part 91 - Registered owner: Bobby L. Graham - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, September 1, 1998, 16 hours before - Departed: MYSTIC LK LODGE, AK - Destination: ISLAND LAKE, AK ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 57; commercial; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine sea, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; seat: left; flight hours: 4,177 total, 319 in this make and model, 4,177 as pilot in command, 16 in the last 90 days, 8 in the last 30 days, 3 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 20° at 15 knots, gusting 25 - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 12,000 ft broken - Temperature: 45 °F - Altimeter: 29.00 inHg - Observed at: IYS, 5 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 19980929045989A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980929045989A), Sep 29, 1998: Maule M7235, Wasilla, AK, Substantial damage. (.4) The pilot told the NTSB investigator-in-charge that he was returning from a hunting lodge with a load of moose meat. He indicated that there were no… 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.