Cessna 172M accident near Bethel, Alaska, October 3, 1991
On October 3, 1991 at about 10:35 pm local time, a Cessna 172M, registered N20024, was substantially damaged in an accident near Bethel, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
A POWER LOSS OVER UNSUITABLE TERRAIN WHICH RESULTED IN A NOSE OVER.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 3, 1991 · about 10:35 pm local time
- Place
- Bethel, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172M · all 172Ms on the register
- Registration
- N20024 · no longer on the register · serial 17260940
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING CRUISE FLIGHT THE PILOT HEARD A LOUD POP IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT AND THE ENGINE STOPPED PRODUCING POWER. DURING THE SUBSEQUENT FORCED LANDING ON THE TUNDRA, THE AIRPLANE NOSED OVER AND RECEIVED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. EXAMINATION OF THE ENGINE REVEALED THAT THE CRANKSHAFT TIMING GEAR, PART NUMBER LW-15269, WAS EXTREMELY WORN AND ALL BUT NINE OF THE GEAR TEETH WERE MISSING. ACCORDING TO TEXTRON LYCOMING, THE GEAR WAS THE ORIGINAL MANUFACTURED GEAR.
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; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,475 hours in all; 620 in this make and model; 304 in the last 90 days; 124 in the last 30 days; 2,324 as pilot in command; 880 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,251 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 25, 1991; 15 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-H2AD (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Village Aviation CORP
The flight
- Departed from: BET Bethel AK at 5:24 pm
- Destination: KKI Akiachak AK
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 290° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 2,000 ft; scat at 1,000 ft
- Temperature: 45°F (7°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 4 |
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 N20024 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.