Cessna 170B accident near Wasilla, Alaska, March 31, 2015
On March 31, 2015 at about 2:00 am local time, a 1953 Cessna 170B, registered N4582C, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (landing roll) near Wasilla, Alaska (Goose Bay 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 student while landing, which resulted in a ground loop. Contributing to the accident was the student pilots failure to maintain directional control of the tailwheel-equipped airplane during the landing roll.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 31, 2015 · about 2:00 am local time
- Place
- Wasilla, Alaska · Goose Bay · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 170B UNDESIGNAT, built 1953 · all 170Bs on the register
- Registration
- N4582C · registry record · serial 25526
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight instructor and student pilot were practicing landings in a tailwheel-equipped airplane. The flight instructor stated that on the fifth landing, during the landing roll, the airplane began to drift slightly to the right, and the student pilot inadvertently applied right rudder. In an effort to correct for the right turn, the flight instructor immediately applied full left rudder and brake while simultaneously pulling aft on the control yoke, but the airplane ground looped. During the ground loop the airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing and left aileron.
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
What happened, in order
- Loss of control on ground during landing (landing roll) defining event
- Dragged wing/rotor/float/other during landing (landing roll)
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during landing (landing roll)
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Psychological › Attention/monitoring › Task monitoring/vigilance › Instructor/check pilot
- factor Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Student/instructed pilot
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,600 hours in all; 500 in this make and model; 55.2 in the last 90 days; 19.5 in the last 30 days; 4,550 as pilot in command; 4,100 on instruments
- Last flight review: August 13, 2013
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 15 hours in all; 15 in this make and model; 15 in the last 90 days; 15 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 11, 2014
- Maximum gross weight: 1,451 lb
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PAMR Anchorage AK
- Destination: Z40 Wasilla AK
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 24, 3,000 ft by 75 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 9,500 ft
- Temperature: 43°F (6°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 29.57 inHg
- Observation at 1:56 am from BCV, 11 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight 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.