Cessna 180 accident near Anchorage, Alaska, May 25, 2006
On May 25, 2006 at about 6:05 pm local time, a Cessna 180, registered N9389C, was substantially damaged in an accident near Anchorage, Alaska (Merrill Field). It was a personal 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 inadequate recovery from a bounced landing during the landing flare/touchdown, which resulted in a loss of control, the right wing striking the runway, and subsequent nose down when the airplane departed the runway.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 25, 2006 · about 6:05 pm local time
- Place
- Anchorage, Alaska · Merrill Field · 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
- N9389C · registry record · serial 31787
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The private certificated pilot was landing at the conclusion of a CFR Part 91 cross-country flight. The pilot reported that she flared too high and bounced the landing. During the recovery attempt, she said the right wing struck the runway, the airplane departed the runway surface, and then nosed down. The pilot indicated that the wind conditions were calm. The airplane received damage to the right wing and propeller.
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: 514 hours in all; 514 in this make and model; 13 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470J (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PASX Soldotna AK
- Destination: PAMR Anchorage AK
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 34
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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ANC06CA062.