may have helped this poor guy
this guy was just trying to get to shore in Alaska.
On April 14, 2015, about 1330 Alaska daylight time, a wheel-equipped Cessna 180 airplane, N9247C, is presumed to have sustained substantial damage during impact with ocean waters, about 18 miles east of Whittier, Alaska, following a reported loss of engine power. The airplane was being operated as an instrument flight rules (IFR) cross-country personal flight under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91, when the accident occurred. The instrument rated private pilot, the sole occupant of the airplane, sustained fatal injuries. Instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) prevailed along the route of flight, and the airplane was operating on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan. The flight departed the Wasilla Airport, Wasilla, Alaska, about 1205, en route to the Valdez Airport, Valdez, Alaska. A postaccident review of archived Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) radar data and radio communication recordings revealed that, about 1315, the on-duty Anchorage Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) radar controller cleared the airplane for the LDA/DME H instrument approach to the Valdez Airport. At that time, the airplane was about 60 miles southwest of the Valdez Airport, at an altitude of about 10,000 feet mean sea level (msl). Shortly after the pilot began a descent from 10,000 feet msl, he advised the ARTCC controller of an engine problem. The pilot stated his intentions to descend below a cloud layer and land on a nearby island. Shortly after, radar contact with the airplane was lost. A radio communication from the accident airplane was relayed through another airplane in the area that he was at 5,500 feet msl, and still in the clouds. No further radio transmissions were received from the airplane and an emergency locator transmitter (ELT) signal was broadcasting shortly thereafter for approximately 20 seconds. The area that the airplane descended into was a portion of the Prince William Sound, consisting of remote inland fjords, coastal waterways, and steep mountainous terrain. The airplane was equipped with a Spidertracks flight tracking system, which provides real-time aircraft flight tracking data. The flight tracking information is transmitted via Iridium satellites to an internet based storage location, at two minute intervals. The airplane's last known location was near the eastern shoreline of Culross Island, at an altitude of 69 feet, traveling at 80 knots, on a heading of about 270 degrees. An alert notice was issued by the FAA Kenai Flight Service Station at 1336 and a search was conducted by personnel from the U.S. Coast Guard, Alaska State Troopers and Alaska Air National Guard, as well as a Good Samaritan vessel.
On April 15, about 1700, searchers discovered the remains of the pilot along the eastern shoreline of Culross Island. Also recovered was the left main landing gear strut and tire belonging to the accident airplane. The rest of the airplane has not yet been located, and it is presumed to have sunk in the ocean waters of Prince William Sound. The closest weather reporting facility is Valdez Airport, Valdez, Alaska, about 60 miles northeast of the accident site. At 1256, an aviation routine weather report (METAR) from the Valdez Airport was reporting in part: Wind, calm; sky condition, few clouds at 6,000 feet AGL, broken at 7,500 feet AGL, overcast at 9,000 feet AGL; visibility, 10 statute miles; temperature 37 degrees F; dewpoint 14 degrees F; altimeter, 29.64 inHg. The airplane was equipped with a Continental Motors O-470 series engine.
