Cessna 170B N4588C

Summary

On 17 July 2004 at about 05:45 local time, a Cessna 170B registered N4588C was involved in an accident near Willow, Alaska, United States. 4 people were on board and 4 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

17 July 2004 at 05:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Willow, Alaska, United States

Coordinates

61.9342, -150.0756

Aircraft

Cessna 170B

Registration

N4588C

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Talkeetna → Anchorage

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC04FA080

4 people died.

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed, which resulted in an inadvertent stall while maneuvering, and a collision with trees and terrain during an uncontrolled descent.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private certificated pilot was returning from a round-robin VFR personal flight with three passengers. The flight was paralleling a rural highway, and was observed by a witness about 30 feet above the trees, southbound on the west side of the highway. The nose of the airplane appeared "slightly up." It then made a smooth right turn, about 180 degrees toward the north, nosed down about 45 degrees, and descended from view into the trees. Another witness reported that she observed the airplane northbound at a low altitude on the west side of the highway. The airplane appeared to be making a right banking turn, and then nosed down toward the trees. The airplane began a 3/4 spiral turn downward and disappeared into the trees. An on-site investigation disclosed that the airplane collided with several trees, and then struck soft ground in about a 45 degree nose down attitude. The cabin floor was oriented about 45 degrees to the right. Numerous broken tree limbs were observed about 50 feet above the impact site. The empennage was separated from the main fuselage about the forward attach point of the vertical stabilizer, and was located about 20 feet north of the main impact site. An examination of the engine revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.