Cessna 172 accident near Cantwell, Alaska, March 10, 2025
On March 10, 2025 at about 8:30 pm local time, a 1974 Cessna 172, registered N5375R, was substantially damaged in an accident during maneuvering near Cantwell, Alaska (Summit airport). 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 failure to maintain altitude during a low-altitude maneuver which resulted in inadvertent ground contact and a nose over.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 10, 2025 · about 8:30 pm local time
- Place
- Cantwell, Alaska · Summit · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172 M, built 1974 · all 172s on the register
- Registration
- N5375R · registry record · serial 17263527
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported that, while flying at low altitude above a remote snow-covered airstrip, he inadvertently descended, and the accident airplane’s nose wheel contacted the snow. The airplane subsequently nosed over and came to rest inverted, which resulted in substantial damage to the right wing and fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no pre-accident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
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
- Low altitude operation/event during maneuvering defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Altitude › Not attained/maintained
- Personnel issues › Psychological › Attention/monitoring › Monitoring environment › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 434 hours in all; 322 in this make and model; 21 in the last 90 days; 14 in the last 30 days; 370 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: April 18, 2023
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 10,562 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, January 2, 2025; 31 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,550 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Penn Yann Aero O-360-A4M (piston); 6,069 hours total
- Operator: Arctic Flying Club
The flight
- Departed from: FAI Fairbanks AK at 7:00 pm
- Destination: TKA Talkeetna AK
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 21, 3,814 ft by 80 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 23°F (-5°C), dew point 12°F (-11°C)
- Altimeter: 29.30 inHg
- Observation at 11:56 am from PAIN, 25 miles away
Weather report (METAR): PAIN 101956Z AUTO 00000KT 10SM CLR M05/M11 A2930 RMK AO2 SLP955 T10501106 FZRANO
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Photographs from the investigation 3 pictures from the NTSB's docket, as the NTSB released them
Photograph 1 – Accident airplane inverted
Photograph 2 – Under section of accident airplane
Photograph 3 – Left wing of accident airplaneThe NTSB's photographs with the NTSB's captions, at screen size. Open a picture to see it full size or to report one that should not be shown.
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
2 documents, released by the NTSB on June 13, 2025. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 13 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Investigative Photographs | PDF, 4 pages · our copy | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
Other NTSB records under N5375R the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.