N8070ZCessna U206A · 1965

On September 8, 2018, about 2353 Alaska daylight time, a Cessna U206 airplane, N8070Z, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain about 1.5 miles north-northeast of the Willow Airport (UUO), Willow, Alaska. The flight instructor and the private pilot receiving instruction, sustained serious injuries. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91, visual flight rules, local area instructional flight. Dark, night visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated at the Talkeetna Airport (TKA), Talkeetna, Alaska, about 2230.

The private pilot receiving instruction stated that the purpose of the flight was to obtain required night training to fulfill Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) 61.109 requirements. She obtained her private pilot certificate the previous month; however, she did not obtain night training, as provided for in FAR 61.110 exception for Alaska pilots. Her airmen certificate had the limitation of "night flying prohibited." She scheduled the night flight with her flight instructor who previously provided all her private pilot flight instruction. The accident flight was the pilot's first night flight.

The flight instructor stated that he had flown with the pilot many times and he characterized her as an excellent student and pilot. The flight instructor had flown to UUO at night on many occasions. He stated that he had provided a total 2,200 hours of airplane single engine instruction and 305 hours of night instruction and his last night flight was 2 to 3 weeks before the accident.

The flight departed TKA at 2230 and proceeded to multiple airports within 60 miles of TKA. The pilot receiving instruction flew from the left seat and the flight instructor sat in the right seat. The pilot conducted two full stop landings and takeoffs at Wasilla Airport (IYS) and then preceded to UUO. She performed one full stop landing on runway 31 and both she and the flight instructor agreed to perform another landing at UUO. The pilot stated that after takeoff, while maintaining runway heading, she climbed the airplane to 1,000 ft mean sea level (msl), and commenced a right, crosswind turn into a dark area with no visible horizon. She could not recall if she leveled off prior to turning or during the turn. The last event that she remembered was the flight instructor exclaiming "what is up with your attitude?"

The flight instructor stated that while the airplane was in the right crosswind turn, and as he looked out the right window, he sensed something was wrong due to the unusual sound of the wind stream and propeller rpm. He realized that the airplane was descending, and that the pilot flying was disoriented. He took command of the flight controls and attempted to recover; however, the airplane was too low, and it impacted the marsh-covered terrain right wing first in a nose down attitude. Both pilots egressed the fragmented wreckage through a tear in the fuselage. The flight instructor located the pilot's iPhone in the marsh and called the Rescue Coordination Center and a family member. They were unable to reach survival gear due to the large wreckage field and their serious injuries. They were rescued about 0150 by the Air National Guard. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings, fuselage and empennage. Refer to figure 1.

Figure 1. N8070Z wreckage

The pilot receiving instruction stated that during the flight, she could see a visible horizon for the first hour of the flight, but after an hour, it became much darker outside. She remembered seeing the lights of Wasilla and recalled that it was much darker at UUO, with few lights outside of the airport environment and no visible horizon. She also stated that she did not recall referencing the attitude indicator during the flight. The flight instructor stated that it was a clear, dark night and he did observe a visible horizon, except to the east of UUO where there were few lights. He stated that he could not see the attitude indicator from the right seat. The U.S. Naval Observatory lists sunset at 2045 and moonset at 2056 on September 8 in Willow.

The private pilot, who was also a co-owner of the airplane, reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.