Cessna 150 accident near Anchorage, Alaska, September 20, 2006
On September 20, 2006 at about 2:09 am local time, a Cessna 150, registered N7745E, was destroyed in an accident near Anchorage, Alaska. 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 misjudged distance/altitude during final approach, which resulted in an undershoot and subsequent in-flight collision with terrain. A factor associated with the accident was a landing gear collapse.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 20, 2006 · about 2:09 am local time
- Place
- Anchorage, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 150 · all 150s on the register
- Registration
- N7745E · no longer on the register · serial 17545
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The commercial certificated pilot was landing a wheel-equipped airplane at a private gravel-covered airstrip during a Title 14, CFR Part 91 personal flight. The pilot said he inadvertently allowed the airplane to touchdown about 23 feet short of the airstrip, and the airplane's nosewheel collided with a dirt embankment. The nosewheel collapsed, but the airplane continued the landing roll on the gravel-covered airstrip. During the landing roll an engine compartment fire ensued. After the pilot exited, fire consumed the entire airplane. The pilot noted that there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane.
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: commercial pilot, flight engineer
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,747 hours in all; 500 in this make and model; 6 in the last 90 days; 6 in the last 30 days; 1,670 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: May 1, 2005
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,560.9 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, June 1, 2006; 6 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,500 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-200 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Anchorage AK at 8:30 pm
- Destination: Anchorage AK
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 070, 1,600 ft by 20 ft
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.
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.