N4340CChampion 7EC · 1955

On July 11, 2022, about 1730 Alaska daylight time, a Champion 7EC airplane, N4340C, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident about 20 miles northeast of Valdez, Alaska. The student pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

The pilot departed from Valdez Pioneer Field Airport (VDZ), Valdez, and was returning to a private airstrip in Sutton, Alaska. When the pilot did not arrive in Sutton, family and friends reported the airplane overdue. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an alert notice at 2246, and search personnel from the Civil Air Patrol, Alaska State Troopers, Alaska Air National Guard, and the U.S. Coast Guard, along with several volunteers, searched for the overdue airplane. Due to poor weather conditions along the anticipated flight route and the lack of an emergency locator transmitter (ELT) signal, the wreckage was not located until July 14th in an area known as Thompson Pass, at an elevation of about 2,560 ft mean sea level. Multiple witnesses along the route of flight reported seeing the airplane flying just above the trees in very poor weather conditions.

The student pilot had a solo cross-country endorsement dated March 21, 2022, with limitations of 2,500-ft cloud ceiling, 10 knots of wind, and 5 statute miles visibility; the endorsement expired on June 29, 2022. The pilot’s flight instructor stated that he did not provide any flight planning training for a flight to Valdez and the pilot did not have a cross-country solo endorsement for a flight to Valdez. The instructor had not provided any instruction in flight by reference to instruments to the accident pilot because the pilot’s airplane was not equipped for instrument flight.

An AIRMET Sierra advisory was issued at 1206, valid for the accident site at the accident time, that forecast mountain obscuration conditions due to clouds and precipitation. The Area Forecast valid for the accident site at the accident time was issued at 1204 and forecast few clouds at 600 ft above ground level (agl), with broken clouds at 3,000 agl. After 1600, the Terminal Aerodrome Forecast (TAF) for VDZ expected variable wind at 3 knots, 3 miles visibility, light rain, mist, few clouds at 800 ft agl, a broken ceiling at 1,500 ft agl, overcast clouds at 8,000 ft agl, and cloud tops at 18,000 ft with occasional light rain.

The accident pilot did not request nor receive weather information from FAA Flight Services or ForeFlight. A search of archived ForeFlight information indicated that the accident pilot did have a ForeFlight account, which recorded several route string combinations retrieved before the accident flight.

It is unknown what, if any, additional weather information the accident pilot viewed before or during the accident flight.An FAA weather camera near the accident site showed near-zero visibility and a cloud layer near the surface (see Figure 1), when compared to the clear day image from the same camera. (see Figure 2.)

Figure 1. Weather camera at Thompson Pass, AK

Figure 2. Clear day visual of Thompson Pass camera

The airplane impacted an area of tundra and rock-covered terrain in a near-vertical attitude.

Flight control continuity was established from the cockpit to all flight control surfaces. The right aileron cable was separated near the upper pulley in the cockpit, consistent with tension overload. The fuselage had numerous broken frame tubes consistent with impact damage. Fuselage was detached from the wings at the wing attachment points and the firewall. The fuselage came to rest inverted with the tail 90 degrees to the right of the direction of travel. Both wings displayed leading edge impact damage. Both ends of the propeller were curled back toward the spinner with rotational scratches/scoring along the cambered side of the blade. There was evidence of fuel blight and a strong smell of fuel at the accident site. The exhaust, induction, and fuel systems were crushed from impact. Both magnetos remained attached to the engine with no damage.

Toxicology testing indicated that the pilot had used cannabis some time before the accident; however, neither the primary psychoactive compound, THC, nor its short-lived psychoactive metabolite, 11-hydroxy-delta-9-THC, were detected in his blood or urine. The non-psychoactive metabolite, THC-COOH, was detected in blood and urine at very low levels.