NTSB experts to begin detailed examination of Super Cub for clues of mechanical-, weather-related crash causes
Investigators looking into the cause of a fatal plane crash last month near McGrath have recovered the wreckage and will soon begin examining it for evidence of mechanical problems.
The chief of the National Transportation Safety Board’s Alaska office says investigators are preparing to begin a detailed analysis of the wrecked single-engine plane that crashed in a remote mountainous area about 60 miles south of McGrath.
“We’re just scheduling that exam right now, to get all the parties up here at one point in time and lay hands on the wreckage and see if we can find anything mechanically wrong that may have led to this tragic accident,” NTSB Alaska Chief Clint Johnson said.
He expects investigators to begin that phase of the process in the next couple of weeks. The heavily damaged Piper PA-18 Super Cub that’s stored in a hangar in Wasilla belonged to 58-year-old Cary Foster, the Anchorage-based pilot who died of injuries he sustained in the crash.
“This pilot was well known in the aviation community, had lots of experience,” Johnson said. “We’re going to be drilling down into that experience level during the investigation.”
Investigators also are studying weather conditions around the area where Foster was trying to land so he could drop off supplies for a hunting guide there. An NTSB preliminary report issued Wednesday described it as the top of a ridge that’s about 2,500 feet in elevation.
'He'd been into this site many, many times'
Johnson said Foster very familiar with area.
“We've been told by friends of the pilot and also, you know, folks that worked with him, that he'd been into this site many, many times.” He added that it was the first time Foster had been back to the site this year.
The preliminary report says the hunting guide told investigators that winds out of the northeast were blowing at about 15 miles per hour, and visibility in the area was good.
“15 miles an hour is not that bad,” Johnson said, “however, winds around the mountains could change things – updrafts, downdrafts, crosswinds, what have you. That's a little bit more unpredictable.”
According to the NTSB report, the guide told investigators he saw Foster fly over his camp several times to determine windspeed and direction and landing conditions. Then, in what appeared to a final approach, the guide lost sight of Foster’s plane, but heard him rev his engine twice, like he was trying to gain altitude.
'A horrible ordeal'
About 30 seconds later, he heard the plane hit the ground.
“He didn’t see the actual impact,” Johnson said. “So, he saw the airplane on approach, saw it, nose down, heard the crash, and then immediately started running towards it.”
The preliminary report says when the guide got to the crash site a few minutes later, he found Foster unconscious, and shortly thereafter he died.
An Alaska National Guard Rescue Coordination Center team arrived by helicopter later in the day and transported his body back to Anchorage, where it was sent to the State Medical Examiner’s Office.
Johnson says the guide and Foster’s many other friends were devastated to learn about the fatal crash.
“These guys were very, very good friends, and unfortunately it was a horrible ordeal to go through,” he said Thursday.
The investigation is still in the early stages, he said, adding that it’ll take months before the NTSB issues a final report.
