Cessna 180 accident near Mcgrath, Alaska, September 4, 2005
On September 4, 2005 at about 1:45 am local time, a Cessna 180, registered N4707U, was substantially damaged in an accident near Mcgrath, Alaska. It was a business 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 failure to maintain control of the airplane during the landing roll, which resulted in a nose over.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 4, 2005 · about 1:45 am local time
- Place
- Mcgrath, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 180 · all 180s on the register
- Registration
- N4707U · registry record · serial 18051407
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During a cross-country business flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, the airline transport certificated pilot landed on a gravel bar. Search and rescue aircraft responded to the area of the landing site after receiving an emergency locator transmitter (ELT) signal. The airplane was located overturned, but the pilot declined rescue. The pilot reported via e-mail to the NTSB IIC that the airplane received damage to the propeller, a wingtip, and the top of the vertical stabilizer, and indicated that a major repair would likely be necessary. The NTSB IIC confirmed the damage to airplane with recovery personnel who reported structural damage to the fuselage at the upper left cabin, the leading edges of both wings, the top of the vertical stabilizer, and the top of the 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: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,000 hours in all; 2,000 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Alaska Bush Safari Co.
The flight
- Departed from: Sleetmute AK
- Destination: Mcgrath AK
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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 N4707U 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.