Cessna 172P accident near Fortress Creek, Alaska, August 18, 1984
On August 18, 1984 at about 3:10 am local time, a Cessna 172P, registered N54173, was destroyed in an accident near Fortress Creek, Alaska. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 4 people were killed. 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 November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 18, 1984 · about 3:10 am local time · cases in 1984
- Place
- Fortress Creek, Alaska
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 4 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172P · all 172Ps on the register
- Registration
- N54173 · registry record · serial 17274903
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
FLIGHT WAS CONDUCTED TO LOCATE WILD GAME. ACFT COLLIDED WITH MOUNTAIN AT 4250 FT LEVEL. ACFT IMPACTED IN A NEAR VERTICALATTITUDE. EXAMINATION OF ACFT DISCLOSED NO EVIDENCE OF MALFUNCTION.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 151 hours in all; 26 in this make and model; 37 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days; 85 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,625 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, July 6, 1984; 67 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,400 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-D2J (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: EDF Elmendorf AK at 8:05 pm
- Destination: Sheep Mountain AK
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 360° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 40 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 6,000 ft; scat at 4,000 ft
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
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.
Other NTSB records under N54173 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N54173 on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Cessna 172 Skyhawk 20,687 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Cessna 72,682 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-D2J 96 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Elmendorf Air Force Base · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in Alaska 5,932 since 1982 · 825 in the last ten years
- Alaska 9,142 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N54173 1 records · the number may have belonged to another aircraft at the time
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/ANC84FA141.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.