Cessna 172H accident near Manokotak, Alaska, June 29, 2025
On June 29, 2025 at about 1:56 am local time, a 1967 Cessna 172H, registered N8085L, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (landing roll) near Manokotak, Alaska (Beach airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s decision to land on an unsuitable landing surface with a tailwind, which resulted in a nose over. Contributing was the pilot’s failure to recognize the wind direction, resulting in a tailwind landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 29, 2025 · about 1:56 am local time
- Place
- Manokotak, Alaska · Beach · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172H, built 1967 · all 172Hs on the register
- Registration
- N8085L · registry record · serial 17256285
- 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 landing on a beach, the airplane’s nosewheel dug into the soft sand. The airplane subsequently nosed over, which resulted in substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer and left wing strut. A witness, who was located about 1 mile west of the accident site, reported that the airplane had landed with a tailwind. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident 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
- Nose over/nose down during landing (landing roll) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Identification/recognition › Pilot
- Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Pilot
- Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Wind › Tailwind › Effect on operation
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Runway/land/takeoff/taxi surface › Soft surface › Effect on operation
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 208 hours in all; 123 in this make and model; 26 in the last 90 days; 12 in the last 30 days; 143 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: November 19, 2023
- Medical certificate: Class 1
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Passenger
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Passenger
- Seat: unk
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,329 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, May 30, 2025; 11 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O300D (piston); 4,228 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: DLG Dillingham AK at 1:25 am
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 220° at 9 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 6,000 ft
- Temperature: 66°F (19°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 29.91 inHg
- Observation at 5:56 pm from PAMB, 17 miles away
Weather report (METAR): PAMB 290156Z AUTO 22009G15KT 10SM SCT060 19/11 A2991 RMK AO2 SLP129 T01890111
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The NTSB has not released the docket for this case yet. The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), is usually released when the investigation is nearly complete, and the list here is refreshed when it appears. Check 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.