Mid-air Hit & Run

Lowflynjack

Lowflynjack

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Jack Fleetwood
Cessna 180J, N9966N: Accident occurred October 13, 2021 in Chickaloon, Alaska

The National Transportation Safety Board is looking for a plane that reportedly collided with another aircraft in midair last week and kept flying. Around 1 p.m. Wednesday, a Cessna 180 was in a collision near Sutton that substantially damaged a wing of the plane, NTSB Alaska chief Clint Johnson said Saturday.

The pilot of the Cessna was able to land safely, and no injuries were reported. But the NTSB is still searching for the other plane, which Johnson said continued flying, and its pilot has not yet come forward to report the accident.

“We don’t think there was any damage to the other plane, but we don’t know that because it kept going,” Johnson said.

“This is an accident, and we’re trying to figure out what took place. We’d like to get both sides of the story,” he said. “So we are actively looking for that airplane.”

Authorities are reviewing air traffic control recordings in the area but haven’t been able to come up with any further information so far, Johnson said.

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Lowflynjack said:
Cessna 180J, N9966N: Accident occurred October 13, 2021 in Chickaloon, Alaska

The National Transportation Safety Board is looking for a plane that reportedly collided with another aircraft in midair last week and kept flying. Around 1 p.m. Wednesday, a Cessna 180 was in a collision near Sutton that substantially damaged a wing of the plane, NTSB Alaska chief Clint Johnson said Saturday.

The pilot of the Cessna was able to land safely, and no injuries were reported. But the NTSB is still searching for the other plane, which Johnson said continued flying, and its pilot has not yet come forward to report the accident.

“We don’t think there was any damage to the other plane, but we don’t know that because it kept going,” Johnson said.

“This is an accident, and we’re trying to figure out what took place. We’d like to get both sides of the story,” he said. “So we are actively looking for that airplane.”

Authorities are reviewing air traffic control recordings in the area but haven’t been able to come up with any further information so far, Johnson said.

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That's a nice looking 180. It has a purposeful utilitarian appearance.

Is that a Stinson 108 in the background?
 
Lowflynjack said:
Authorities are reviewing air traffic control recordings in the area but haven’t been able to come up with any further information so far, Johnson said.
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I wonder what incentive the other pilot has to come forward now.
 
Lowflynjack said:
Cessna 180J, N9966N: Accident occurred October 13, 2021 in Chickaloon, Alaska

The National Transportation Safety Board is looking for a plane that reportedly collided with another aircraft in midair last week and kept flying.
Well, that sure beats it quit flying... OTOH, maybe it actually went down - later. Odd.
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What’s the fine for not reporting a collision in flight to the NTSB?
 
Clip4 said:
What’s the fine for not reporting a collision in flight to the NTSB?
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How can someone report something if they don’t know it happened?
 
Is there solid evidence that it was another plane, instead of a large drone or bird?
Ok, there'd be physical evidence left if it was a bird, but did the pilot report seeing the other plane? I may have missed that.
 
No one can identify what the other flying object that hit it was, so...technically, that plane collided with a UFO, right?

Seriously, though, something got close enough to damage a wing. What does the pilot think it was?
 
1 pm mid October, even in Alaska should be daylight. Maybe it's just lousy reporting but the pilot of the 180 must have seen something. Color? Hi wing or low wing? Cub sized,, Caravan sized, Twin Otter sized? Silver, really fast, with a big red star on the tail?
 
My low wing landing gear hitting your high wing...I hear a thump, look around and can't see anything. I get home, will I see any damage to my main gear? Other than hearing something, the other pilot might not even know what happened, maybe a bird. If it happens at the right angle and my oleo shock takes the brunt of it?

And I agree it's a UFO...it's them A-lee-ens again.
 
I mentioned 'bird', even as I dismissed the notion, because some years ago I had the opportunity to go salmon fishing in Alaska. We flew into a remote river in a Beaver on floats; at the end of the week, we were picked up, and I again got to fly right seat. The plane lacked dual controls so my fantasy of begging for a little stick time was not to be. Anyway, I was videoing the takeoff, since the river was moving relatively fast, and there was a pronounced bend to navigate while building up to take-off speed. It looked like it would be interesting...

Soon enough we were airborne, and I was still videoing as we rose past tree-top level. I noticed a blur cross the viewfinder, but didn't think much of it until I was home, watching on a bigger screen, and advancing that part of the video frame-by-frame.

A bald eagle had flashed across right in front of the windscreen. It was a clean miss, but not by much.
 
Could the 180 pilot have been studying the magenta line and struck something attached to the ground, and invented the other plane? Would add credence to the report that the other plane had minimal damage?
Or studying the magenta line, and hit a much smaller plane, which he never saw?

Conversely, though, I hope they are doing a serious search for a smaller plane that might have crashed after the collision. Apparently, the pilot was not looking when he was hit, and crippling damage to a small plane is within reason, and that crash scene may be miles away. Smaller planes disappear in to the brush rather easily.

An executive twin was undiscovered in New Hampshire for a decade, within 10 miles of the last radar return. It compacted into a small package against a cliff, and fell behind the trees at the bottom.

I certainly hope that there is not someone in some trees up in Alaska.
 
bflynn said:
And I agree it's a UFO...it's them A-lee-ens again.
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They probably zapped him with an amnesia ray, that's why he can't remember his heroism. He was lucky, by ramming the flying saucer, he made the Space Invaders vamoose before they had a chance to suck his brains out or... nevermind... you really just don't want to know.
 
geezer said:
Could the 180 pilot have been studying the magenta line and struck something attached to the ground, and invented the other plane? Would add credence to the report that the other plane had minimal damage?
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My first thought was there was a tire mark on the top of the 180! That would explain minimal or no damage to the other plane.

A friend of mine was in a midair collision once. He was instructing in a 152 and they had a collision with a Cirrus. Cirrus lost its windshield, 152 lost its wheel. Considered minor damage by the NTSB, but could have been much worse.
 
Lowflynjack said:
My first thought was there was a tire mark on the top of the 180! That would explain minimal or no damage to the other plane.

A friend of mine was in a midair collision once. He was instructing in a 152 and they had a collision with a Cirrus. Cirrus lost its windshield, 152 lost its wheel. Considered minor damage by the NTSB, but could have been much worse.
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I have heard about a similar collision, was in near CLL?
 
Look for small residue of paint that doesn't belong to the 180.

One time at the now defunct airport my father operated (M52), I came home from school and saw a Tri-Pacer on the runway, tail sticking up in the air. I ran out there and saw that the right main gear was folded up toward the fuselage. The tire had a streak of blue paint on it.

An elderly gentleman with one passenger had been flying V16, and just crossed JKS Vortac, head bent over to check a map, when he felt a bump. Looked out, and saw he had a problem. Our airport was about three miles away so that's where he landed on the nose and one good main gear. A small crowd gathered to ponder the situation, and before long a wrecker came and towed the wounded plane to the maintenance ramp.

So the crowd lingered a while at the administration building, as was usual at a small town airport in those days. Everybody was chattering about what was that. About 45 minutes later a pickup truck drove up with some excited boys in the cab, and an intact blue wing tank from a Cessna 310 in the bed. The wing tank had a streak of black rubber on it. They asked me what that strange thing was that had landed in a field about five miles away. I said holy crap that's from a plane that hit another plane a little while ago.

Turns out the 310 was also crossing directly over the Vortac at unfortunately the same time and opposite direction, and had not seen the small Piper because he was looking the other way. Also makes sense given that both were at the same altitude (forget which was the one that bungled the even/odd rule) and that there would be no apparent movement of the target against the background as it approached at about 250 kts combined closing speed. Anyway, the 310 landed at McKellar Field about 25 miles west after he looked at his left wing and saw fuel spraying from where a wing tank had been. Of course he was utterly mystified until an hour or two later when all the dots got connected.
 
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3393RP said:
That's a nice looking 180. It has a purposeful utilitarian appearance.

Is that a Stinson 108 in the background?
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The short rudder makes me think it's a Commonwealth Skyranger
 
pacer dave said:
The short rudder makes me think it's a Commonwealth Skyranger
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It's a Maule. I wasn't sure, but I found the photographer, only listed as 'QSY on-route', had taken more photos in that area.

N9855M 1967 Maule M-4-210C

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Legend has it, there is a Japanese ghost plane based on one of the Alaskan islands. Most reports seem to make it a Kate torpedo bomber that may have been lost during the attack on Dutch Harbor in 1942. Some believe that the ghost plane may be more tangible, that somehow a lone pilot survived that attack and has been hiding in the remote wilderness for 80 years, carefully maintaining his old aircraft. Either way, the aircraft makes itself known by buzzing local fisherman, and occasionally performing a "wing bump" on unsuspecting airmen. Details of are sketchy, as I just made this up.
 
Albany Tom said:
Legend has it, there is a Japanese ghost plane based on one of the Alaskan islands. Most reports seem to make it a Kate torpedo bomber... Either way, the aircraft makes itself known by buzzing local fisherman, and occasionally performing a "wing bump" on unsuspecting airmen. Details of are sketchy, as I just made this up.
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The way I heard it. (After much firewater I might add.) Is that the apparition is a Jake. Tone's #4 scout and crew condemned by the spirits of Mount Fuji to spend eternity looking for Admiral Nimitz and his Task Force...

Guess they crossed Sutton off the list.
 
Jack Cabano said:
Tone's #4 scout and crew condemned by the spirits of Mount Fuji to spend eternity looking for Admiral Nimitz and his Task Force...
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Extra points for you today. I suspect very few here know the story of Scout #4.

As an aside, the Tone was a well commanded fighting ship, one that participated in many great sea battles.
 
bflynn said:
My low wing landing gear hitting your high wing...I hear a thump, look around and can't see anything. I get home, will I see any damage to my main gear? Other than hearing something, the other pilot might not even know what happened, maybe a bird. If it happens at the right angle and my oleo shock takes the brunt of it?

And I agree it's a UFO...it's them A-lee-ens again.
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So much wrong with this post. Real pilots flying real airplanes in Alaska have don’t have low wings or oleo struts. Come on…. ;)
 
I must have missed something here (not at all unusual), but do we know exactly what sort of damage was sustained by the C-180's wing?
 
"Around 1 p.m. Wednesday, a Cessna 180 was in a collision near Sutton that substantially damaged a wing of the plane", NTSB Alaska chief Clint Johnson said Saturday.
 
I think the only thing we're sure of is that's is some form of Japanese carrier based aircraft.
 
^^Rigid Japanese tactical dogma, reconnaissance was by land based aircraft, flying boat, or cruiser based floatplanes.

Limited in number, carrier aircraft were striking force or CAP.

Apparently they had not read the elder Von Moltke; "No plan of action continues with certainty beyond the first encounter with the enemy."
 
Jack Cabano said:
Apparently they had not read the elder Von Moltke; "No plan of action continues with certainty beyond the first encounter with the enemy."
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Or in other words, Mike Tyson was paraphrasing a Prussian general? Huh.
 
Albany Tom said:
Or in other words, Mike Tyson was paraphrasing a Prussian general? Huh.
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So funny; I was just trying to come up with a funny Prussian monicker for Tyson when I saw you (wait for it…!) beat me to the punch!
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
******Caution: NECROPOST******

Was this incident ever resolved?

@Lowflynjack et al
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NTSB Final has been issued: ANC22LA002

A postaccident examination revealed that the airplane had sustained substantial damage to the left wing and what appeared to be a black tire mark. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

The other aircraft involved has not been identified.

Ron Wanttaja
 
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