Cessna 180B accident near Clear, Alaska, September 1, 1986
On September 1, 1986 at about 5:20 am local time, a Cessna 180B, registered N3539E, was substantially damaged in an accident near Clear, Alaska. It was a personal 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 November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 1, 1986 · about 5:20 am local time · cases in 1986
- Place
- Clear, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 180B · all 180Bs on the register
- Registration
- N3539E · registry record · serial 50398
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT & PASSENGER WERE ON A HUNTING TRIP & HAD SELECTED A CLEARING ON A BRUSH COVERED HILLSIDE FOR A LANDING. THE CLEARING HAD BEEN PREVIOUSLY USED AS AN AIRSTRIP. WHILE ON FINAL APCH TO LAND AT DUSK, THE PLT LOST SIGHT OF THE TOUCHDOWN AREA DUE TO DARKNESS & SHADOWS. DURING THE LANDING, HE OVERRAN THE LANDING ZONE. THE LEFT MAIN GEAR THEN ENCOUNTERED UNEVEN TERRAIN & COLLAPSED.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea
- Flight time: 1,400 hours in all; 600 in this make and model; 28 in the last 90 days; 1,260 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Unknown (expired)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,100 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 2,650 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470-K (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: FAI Fairbanks AK at 10:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Visibility: 60 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 10,000 ft
- Temperature: 45°F (7°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
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 N3539E 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
- N3539E on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Cessna 180 Skywagon 2,604 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Cessna 72,676 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Continental O-470-K 13 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Fairbanks International · 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 N3539E 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/ANC86LA159.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.