Amateur-built Glastar accident near Glennallen, Alaska, August 19, 2001
On August 19, 2001, a amateur-built Glastar, registered N677DT, was substantially damaged in an accident near Glennallen, Alaska (Chelle Lake Airstrip airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to abort the landing. Factors associated with the accident were the pilot's selection of an unsuitable landing area, and his failure to attain a proper touchdown point. An additional factor was a tailwind.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 19, 2001
- Place
- Glennallen, Alaska · Chelle Lake Airstrip · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Glastar
- Registration
- N677DT · registry record · serial 1
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The certificated commercial pilot, with one passenger aboard, was landing on a 675 feet long off airport site, in an experimental, homebuilt airplane. Due to obstructions at the south end of the site, the pilot landed to the south, and downwind. As the airplane's main wheels touched down on the rough gravel surface, the airplane bounced. The pilot recovered from the bounce, and flew further down the runway and landed about midfield on the site. During the landing roll, while applying heavy braking, the airplane went off the end of the site, and nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer and rudder.
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: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,708 hours in all; 327 in this make and model; 115 in the last 90 days; 17 in the last 30 days; 1,628 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: May 30, 2001
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (expired)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 333.5 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection
- Maximum gross weight: 1,960 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-D2J (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: GUK Gulkana AK at 6:45 pm
- Destination: TKJ Tok AK
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 18, 675 ft by 12 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 360° at 3 knots, gusting 10
- Visibility: 50 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,500 ft
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.
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.