Cessna 180K accident near Anchorage, Alaska, May 10, 2000
On May 10, 2000 at about 1:07 am local time, a Cessna 180K, registered N2785K, was substantially damaged in an accident near Anchorage, Alaska (Merrill Field). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadvertent ground loop/swerve during landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 10, 2000 · about 1:07 am local time
- Place
- Anchorage, Alaska · Merrill Field · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 180K · all 180Ks on the register
- Registration
- N2785K · registry record · serial 18053067
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The solo commercial pilot was landing on runway 24, in a tailwheel and tundra tire equipped airplane on a paved runway. The pilot stated that after landing the airplane's right main wheel 'grabbed,' and the airplane ground looped to the right. During the ground loop, the left wing struck the runway, and the airplane nosed down. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing leading edge, and left wing main spar. The pilot noted that there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane.
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
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 2,500 hours in all; 1,500 in this make and model; 7 in the last 90 days; 7 in the last 30 days; 2,200 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,700 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 1, 1999
- Maximum gross weight: 2,800 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470U (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SPD Sand Point AK at 4:20 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 24, 4,000 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 270° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 20,000 ft; scat at 7,000 ft
- Temperature: 52°F (11°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:11 pm from MRI
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N2785K the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.