Too Much Wind

March 12 - 13, 2003

We sold our original Cessna 172 in 1991 to get out of debt, and then went through a variety of replacements, none of which was entirely satisfactory. After a lot of looking we found an affordable Cessna 172 with a 180 horsepower engine, floats, wheels, and skis.

On Wednesday night and Thursday morning, March 12 and 13, 2003, hurricane winds blew into Anchorage from the north, tearing off roofs, toppling trees, shattering windows and triggering power outages. Controllers abandoned the Anchorage International Airport control tower after a gust of 109 mph was recorded there. The wind chill was -40°F.

At least 31 aircraft parked near our new float plane flipped upside down or had strut failure and collapsed wings. We were extremely fortunate that our plane survived the storm unscathed. Had we not purchased it when we did, and had Dennis not replaced the flimsy tiedown ropes with much sturdier ones, it's very likely it would have ended up upside down like so many other planes. The previous owner would have had only parts left to sell.

Wrecked plane Plane blown into another plane Flipped plane Plane upside down