Cessna U206F N1853Q

Summary

On 5 March 2022 at about 21:30 local time, a Cessna U206F registered N1853Q, operated by Send North, was involved in an accident near Newhalen, Alaska, United States. 5 people were on board and 4 were seriously injured, one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

5 March 2022 at 21:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Newhalen, Alaska, United States

Coordinates

59.6484, -154.9852

Aircraft

Cessna U206F

Registration

N1853Q

Category

Airplane

Year built

1975

Engines

1

Operator

Send North

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Levelock → Port Alsworth

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC22LA022

4 people were seriously injured.

The pilot’s decision to continue visual flight into an area of instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in the pilot experiencing a loss of visual reference and subsequent controlled flight into terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The operator reported that the pilot had diverted to an alternate airport due to weather. As the flight approached the alternate airport, the weather had deteriorated, and the pilot requested a Special VFR clearance. The flight continued to follow the lake shoreline and the pilot recalled circling once while waiting for the clearance. Prior to reaching “the mouth of the river”, the pilot made the decision to divert to another alternate airport, due to the visibility getting worse as they approached the airport. As the pilot began to make an approximate 20° right hand turn over the frozen, snow-covered lake, he noticed the airplane was losing altitude and remembers increasing power and pitch, around this point he “switched to instruments”. The passenger recalled looking to his right and remarked it was like looking at a “white sheet of paper” with the sky blending with the frozen lake. Moments later, the airplane impacted the snow-covered ice while in the turn to the right. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings, fuselage, and empennage. The operator reported that there were no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.