Homebuilt Crashes In Anchorage Neighborhood

Editorial Staff

Sunday, September 11, 2016 at 12:00 AM ET

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Key Takeaways:

A homebuilt Super Cub-type aircraft crashed and burned in an Anchorage neighborhood, resulting in the deaths of the pilot and his dog.
The aircraft was seen flying low, clipped trees before impact, and narrowly missed a pedestrian, but caused no further damage to the neighborhood.
NTSB investigators are on scene, benefiting from numerous pilot-rated witnesses in the area to help determine the cause.

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A homebuilt crashed and burned in an Anchorage neighborhood Saturday, killing the pilot and his dog but not causing any other damage. It apparently just missed a man walking his dog, however. The aircraft, described as a Super Cub-type homebuilt on floats, was spotted flying low over a subdivision on the Anchorage Hillside before it crashed about 4:30 p.m. A fire fuelled by the ruptured wing tanks burned the wreck to a melted aluminum skeleton.

The aircraft clipped some trees before crashing and the floats were sheared off and remained in a tree. Investigators told reporters they already had a lot of evidence pointing to potential causes and Anchorage’s unique demographic was helping that. “We’re blessed with a number of witnesses, a lot of them pilot-rated,” said Clint Johnson, chief of the NTSB’s Anchorage office.