Cessna 180F accident near Cordova, Alaska, August 31, 1987
On August 31, 1987 at about 2:45 am local time, a Cessna 180F, registered N25722, was substantially damaged in an accident near Cordova, Alaska (Cordova 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 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 31, 1987 · about 2:45 am local time · cases in 1987
- Place
- Cordova, Alaska · Cordova · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 180F · all 180Fs on the register
- Registration
- N25722 · registry record · serial 18051274
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE WIND WAS BLOWING FROM THE SOUTH AT APPROXIMATELY 15 KNOTS GUSTING 30 KNOTS. AS HE WAS TURNING OFF THE RUNWAY, THE PILOT LOST DIRECTIONAL CONTROL OF THE AIRCRAFT CAUSING THE AIRCRAFT TO GROUND LOOP ON THE TAXIWAY.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine
- Flight time: 1,100 hours in all; 660 in this make and model; 63 in the last 90 days; 25 in the last 30 days; 919 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,154 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 21, 1987; 63 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,650 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470-R (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MRI Anchorage AK
- Destination: CDV Cordova AK
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 9, 7,499 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 090° at 13 knots, gusting 30
- Visibility: 35 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 41°F (5°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:45 pm from CDV
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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 N25722 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
- N25722 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 72,677 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Continental O-470-R 107 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Merle K (Mudhole) Smith Airport · nearest airport
- Merrill Field · 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 N25722 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/ANC87LA130.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.