Cessna 180A accident near King Salmon, Alaska, August 19, 1991
On August 19, 1991 at about 4:30 am local time, a Cessna 180A, registered N26CZ, was substantially damaged in an accident near King Salmon, Alaska. It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN DIRECTIONAL CONTROL OF THE AIRPLANE DURING THE TAKEOFF RUN. CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WAS THE ROUGH WATER.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 19, 1991 · about 4:30 am local time
- Place
- King Salmon, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 180A · all 180As on the register
- Registration
- N26CZ · registry record · serial 32859
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING THE TAKEOFF RUN ON THE WATER, THE AIRPLANE'S RIGHT FLOAT HIT A WAVE CREATED BY A FISHING BOAT. THE PILOT THEN LOST DIRECTIONAL CONTROL OF THE AIRPLANE. THE LEFT WING STRUCK THE WATER AND THE AIRPLANE WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,530 hours in all; 900 in this make and model; 79 in the last 90 days; 59 in the last 30 days; 1,300 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,840 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 1, 1991; 10 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,650 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470K (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Nondalton AK at 11:30 am
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 4,000 ft
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 43°F (6°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 N26CZ the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ANC91LA127.