Cessna 170B accident near Homer, Alaska, May 10, 2005
On May 10, 2005 at about 5:35 am local time, a Cessna 170B, registered N8305A, was substantially damaged in an accident near Homer, Alaska (Homer airport). It was an instructional 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 flight instructor's inadequate supervision of the flight during the landing roll, which resulted in a loss of control, and collision with a ditch. A factor associated with the accident was the student pilot's failure to maintain directional control.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 10, 2005 · about 5:35 am local time
- Place
- Homer, Alaska · Homer · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 170B · all 170Bs on the register
- Registration
- N8305A · registry record · serial 25157
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The certificated flight instructor was providing flight instruction to the student pilot/owner who was practicing touch and go landings on runway 21. The instructor said that the wind was from 230 degrees at 11 knots. As the airplane touched down it veered slightly to the right, and the student corrected for the swerve. A gust of wind from the right then lifted the right wing, and the airplane began to veer to the left. The student applied right aileron and right rudder, but the airplane departed off the left side of the paved runway onto an area of grass. The instructor applied engine power in an attempt to gain control of the airplane, but the airplane collided with a ditch that paralleled the runway. The airplane received structural damage to the right main landing gear and fuselage, and the right wingtip. The instructor indicated that the student pilot had accrued about 79 hours of instructional flight.
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
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,557 hours in all; 30 in this make and model; 48 in the last 90 days; 31 in the last 30 days; 1,479 as pilot in command; 335 on instruments
- Last flight review: April 1, 2005
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 79 hours in all; 79 in this make and model; 17 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 1, 2005
- Maximum gross weight: 2,200 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A1A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PAHO Homer AK at 11:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 21, 6,701 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 230° at 11 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 8,000 ft
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.