Cessna 170B accident near Chickaloon, Alaska, May 7, 2006
On May 7, 2006 at about 7:00 pm local time, a Cessna 170B, registered N2396D, was substantially damaged in an accident near Chickaloon, Alaska (Sheep Mountain 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 selection of unsuitable terrain for landing, which resulted in a nose over during the landing roll. A factor associated with the accident was the snow on the runway.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 7, 2006 · about 7:00 pm local time · cases in 2006
- Place
- Chickaloon, Alaska · Sheep Mountain · cases near this airport · 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
- N2396D · registry record · serial 20548
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was conducting a personal cross-country flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when he elected to land en route at an airport where he'd landed previously. He said he flew over the landing area, and believed the snow on the runway was not significantly deep due to the lack of snow surrounding the runway. He said nearing the end of the landing roll, the airplane's main landing gear wheels broke through the surface crust of snow, and the airplane nosed over. In a written statement to the NTSB dated May 19, he reported that the airplane received damage to the vertical tail and wingtip. He further reported that the snow was 6 inches deep, and was "the root of the problem."
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 210 hours in all; 54 in this make and model; 9 in the last 90 days; 7 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: June 1, 2005
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,683 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 1, 2005; 9 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,200 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-300D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MRI Anchorage AK
- Destination: 15Z Mccarthy AK
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 05, 2,270 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 39°F (4°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.39 inHg
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.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N2396D on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Cessna 170 2,085 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Cessna 72,682 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Continental O-300D 31 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Sheep Mountain Airport · nearest airport
- Merrill Field · departed from
- Mccarthy Airport · bound for
- Accidents and incidents in Alaska 5,932 since 1982 · 825 in the last ten years
- Alaska 9,142 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/ANC06CA050.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.