Cessna 140 N72784

Summary

On 14 July 2015 at about 19:00 local time, a Cessna 140 registered N72784, operated by Joshua M. Mastre, was involved in an accident near Homer, Alaska, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

14 July 2015 at 19:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Homer, Alaska, United States

Coordinates

62.1800, -159.8408

Aircraft

Cessna 140

Registration

N72784

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Joshua M. Mastre

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Homer → Soldotna

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC15CA051

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's decision to fly at a low altitude in mountainous terrain and weather conditions conducive to downdrafts.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that while on a cross-country flight over an area of mountainous terrain, he noticed a bear that was near the entrance to a mountain pass. He said that while orbiting over the bear, a strong downdraft emanating from the pass entrance caused the airplane to descend toward the saddle of the mountain pass. The pilot said that he applied full engine power in an attempt to arrest the descent, but the airplane's main landing gear wheels ultimately touched down in an area of grass-covered terrain. The airplane's left main wheel subsequently struck a large rock, and the left wing struck the ground, resulting in substantial damage to the left wing and fuselage. The pilot said that just after the accident, he estimated the surface wind to be from 090 to 140 degrees at 10 knots, with gusts from 15 to 20 knots. The pilot reported no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operations.               

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.