Cessna 172N accident near Petersburg, Alaska, October 7, 2025
On October 7, 2025 at about 10:56 pm local time, a Cessna 172N, registered N80628, was substantially damaged in an accident during enroute near Petersburg, Alaska. 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 NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 7, 2025 · about 10:56 pm local time
- Place
- Petersburg, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172N · all 172Ns on the register
- Registration
- N80628 · registry record · serial 17269062
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative preliminary · quoted from the NTSB record
On October 7, 2025, at 1456 Alaska daylight time, a Cessna 172 airplane, N80628, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Petersburg, Alaska. The student pilot and flight instructor were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 flight. The student pilot purchased the airplane two weeks prior to the accident. The training flight included steep turns, turns around a point, and emergency procedures. The flight instructor stated that during the flight there was some mist in the area, so they had applied carburetor heat and left it on. After rolling out of a left turn, while in straight and level flight, the engine lost partial power. Engine power was briefly restored, then the engine lost all power. In an attempt to restore engine power, the flight instructor and student pilot cycled the magnetos, turned on the electric fuel pump, ensured the fuel selector was in the BOTH position, and the mixture was full RICH. Unable to restart the engine, the flight instructor performed a forced landing to a road. During the landing roll the airplane struck a large rock that partially separated the right main landing gear, and it pivoted it into a ditch. The airplane came to rest inverted and sustained substantial damage to the right wing. At 1456, the weather reported at Petersburg Airport (PAPG), about 14 miles southeast of the accident site, included a temperature of 9°C and a dew point of 7°C. The calculated relative humidity at this temperature and dewpoint was 87%. Review of the icing probability chart contained within Federal Aviation Administration Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin CE-09-35 revealed the atmospheric conditions at the time of the accident were “serious icing at cruise power settings, and also fell within the range specified for icing in pressure-type carburetors.” A detailed examination is pending recovery of 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
What happened, in order
- Loss of engine power (total) during enroute defining event
- Off-field or emergency landing during emergency descent
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during landing (landing roll)
- Nose over/nose down during landing (landing roll)
The aircraft
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
The flight
- Departed from: PAPG Petersburg AK at 10:26 pm
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 050° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 4,400 ft; scat at 1,800 ft
- Temperature: 48°F (9°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 30.04 inHg
- Observation at 2:56 pm from PAPG, 14 miles away
Weather report (METAR): PAPG 072256Z 05003KT 10SM -RA SCT018 BKN044 09/07 A3004 RMK AO2 RAB46 SLP176 P0000 T00890067
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 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.
Other NTSB records under N80628 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.