Loss of Control in Flight · NTSB ANC16LA011
CESSNA 172 — Anchorage, AK
| Date | December 29, 2015 |
| Location | Anchorage, AK |
| Aircraft | CESSNA 172 |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Night · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Other Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) |
| Pilot age | 42 |
| Pilot total time | 140 hrs · Low time |
| Time in type | Unknown |
| Fatalities | 1 |
Probable cause
The pilot's intentional flight into a building.
NTSB findings
- Personnel issues-Miscellaneous-Intentional act-Suicide-Pilot - C
- Not determined-Not determined-(general)-(general)-Other authority investigated - C
What happened
Witnesses reported seeing the airplane flying in an easterly direction at a very low altitude before striking the northwest corner of an office building. The airplane's wreckage continued traveling east while descending into an adjacent office building and subsequently struck an electrical transformer. A postcrash fire consumed the airplane wreckage. The private pilot intentionally flew the airplane into the side of the building, and he was killed. The flight was not authorized and the event was an intentional act, so the Federal Bureau of Investigation assumed jurisdiction and control of the investigation.