Cloud-Wag Aero Sportsmen accident near Noatak, Alaska, August 23, 2003
On August 23, 2003 at about 5:30 am local time, a Cloud-Wag Aero Sportsmen, an amateur-built aircraft,, registered N35CL, was substantially damaged in an accident near Noatak, Alaska. 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 misjudgment of the airplane's distance and speed, which resulted in the airplane not attaining the proper landing touchdown point and overrunning the landing site.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 23, 2003 · about 5:30 am local time
- Place
- Noatak, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cloud-Wag Aero Sportsmen, amateur-built
- Registration
- N35CL · registry record · serial 353
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported he was landing his homebuilt tailwheel airplane at a remote, off-airport site. He said he made the landing approach too high and too fast, and the airplane touched down farther down the site than he intended. He was unable to stop it before it overran the end of the landing site and encountered brush and soft terrain. The main landing gear subsequently collapsed, and the airplane received structural damage to the left wing.
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
- Flight time: 250 hours in all; 157 in this make and model; 21 in the last 90 days; 14 in the last 30 days; 205 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: April 1, 2002
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 460 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, May 1, 2003; 26 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,792 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-A2B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: OTZ Kotzebue AK
- Destination: Noatak AK
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,500 ft
- Temperature: 48°F (9°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.