Cessna 172 accident near Anchorage, Alaska, December 29, 2015
On December 29, 2015 at about 3:18 pm local time, a 1999 Cessna 172, registered N914CP, was destroyed in an accident during maneuvering near Anchorage, Alaska (Merrill Field). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's intentional flight into a building.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 29, 2015 · about 3:18 pm local time
- Place
- Anchorage, Alaska · Merrill Field · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172, built 1999 · all 172s on the register
- Registration
- N914CP · registry record · serial 172S8334
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
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.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Security/criminal event during maneuvering defining event
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain)
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Miscellaneous › Intentional act › Suicide › Pilot
- cause Not determined › Not determined › (general) › (general) › Other authority investigated
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 140 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,074.2 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 12, 2015; 75 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,299 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO360 SER A&C (piston); 5,784 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: MRI Anchorage AK
- Destination: MRI Anchorage AK
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: night
- Wind: from 170° at 8 knots, gusting 18
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 20,000 ft; a few clouds at 7,000 ft
- Temperature: 48°F (9°C), dew point 27°F (-3°C)
- Altimeter: 29.56 inHg
- Observation at 2:53 pm from PAMR, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 1 |
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ANC16LA011.