Jimmy Deselle 8/22/95 Knik Glacier Flying Crash Peter Deselle 8/22/95 Knik Glacier Flying Crash Brothers Die In Plane Crash ADN 8/23/95 Two brothers were killed Tuesday when their plane crashed near the Knik Glacier. Alaska State Troopers said Jimmy Deselle Jr., 37, of Peters Creek, was flying the 1973 Bellanca fixed-wing plane in Grasshopper Valley when it went down about 10:30 a.m. Deselle's brother, Peter, 27, who was visiting from Louisiana, was the only passenger. It was unclear what caused the crash. The accident is under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board. NTSB Database A/C Type: Champion 7eca N-Number: N57393 Preliminary Report On August 22, 1995, at 1125 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Champion Citabria, 7ECA, N57393, operated by the pilot, crashed during maneuvering flight near the Grasshopper Airstrip located near Palmer, Alaska. The personal flight, operating under 14 CFR Part 91, departed the Grasshopper Airstrip and the destination was Birchwood, Alaska. No flight plan was filed and visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The private certificated pilot and the passenger were fatally injured and the airplane was destroyed by impact forces. According to the passenger's hunting partner, who was still on the ground at the hunting camp, he watched the airplane takeoff and make a right turn toward the camp. The airplane flew over the camp and was making another right turn. The hunting partner looked away from the airplane and then heard a loud "wump." He saw the airplane crashed on the ground approximately 700 feet to the southwest of his location. Probable Cause Report According to a witness, he and the two occupants of the airplane were hunting in the area. The pilot and passenger took off from an unimproved strip. The witness stated that after takeoff, the airplane made a right turn, and flew over the camp. After the fly over, the airplane started another right turn. The witness looked away and then heard the plane crash. He then turned and saw the airplane on the ground. It came to rest in a nose down attitude. A crush line on the airplane showed that it had impacted in about a 45 degree nose down attitude. Photographs taken by the witness showed the airplane just lifting off at the airstrip and climbing with a nose high attitude. Probable Cause Failure of the pilot to maintain adequate airspeed, while maneuvering at low altitude, which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin and collision with the terrain.