ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 174901
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| Date: | Monday 3 July 2000 |
| Time: | 18:32 |
| Type: |  Cessna 172S |
| Owner/operator: | Take Flight Alaska |
| Registration: | N862SP |
| MSN: | 17258196 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 503 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming IO-360-L2A |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Whittier, AK -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Anchorage, AK (MRI) |
| Middleton Is., AK (MDO) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
A private pilot departed from Merrill Field, Anchorage, Alaska, in a rented, wheel-equipped airplane. Prior to his departure, the pilot left an envelope in a friend's car, telling the friend not to open it until after the pilot had departed. The envelope contained a power of attorney, transferring all of the pilot's property to his brother, and a letter entitled "Message in a Bottle." About one hour after the airplane departed from the flight school, a witness aboard a boat saw the accident airplane flying very low over the water. The witness said that the wings were rocking back and forth, with the wingtips almost touching the water. He added that the airplane entered a collision course with his boat, which required his abrupt and evasive action to avoid being struck by the airplane. Numerous other witnesses in the area reported similar encounters with the same airplane. About one hour later, a passing airplane received a distress call from the accident airplane pilot stating the he had a loss of engine power, and that he was going down. The U.S. Coast Guard recovered the pilot's floating body. The airplane sank in deep ocean waters. Toxicology tests revealed Alcohol, Cocaine, and Valium in the pilot's blood, muscles, and organ tissue. The postmortem examination ruled the cause of death as a suicide. The pilot had a history of substance abuse, had previously been convicted of first-degree arson, and was being sought by local police for a recent arson.
Probable Cause: Suicide.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20001212X21348&key=1
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 28-Mar-2015 19:27 | harro | Added |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:30 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 12-Dec-2017 18:58 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Cn, Operator, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
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