Cessna 180 accident near Atmautluak, Alaska, January 6, 1992
On January 6, 1992 at about 2:10 pm local time, a Cessna 180, registered N91361, was substantially damaged in an accident near Atmautluak, Alaska (Atmautluak airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 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 PILOT SELECTED UNSUITABLE TERRAIN. FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WERE THE DAWN LIGHT CONDITION AND THE SNOW ON THE RUNWAY.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 6, 1992 · about 2:10 pm local time
- Place
- Atmautluak, Alaska · Atmautluak · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 180 · all 180s on the register
- Registration
- N91361 · no longer on the register · serial 18052045
- 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
THE PILOT STATED THAT JUST AFTER TOUCHDOWN THE WHEELS WENT INTO A SNOWDRIFT ABOUT 2 FT DEEP WHICH PULLED THE AIRPLANE SIDEWAYS. HE APPLIED FULL POWER TO MAKE A GO-AROUND, THEN HIT ANOTHER SNOWDRIFT ABOUT 12-16 IN DEEP. THE AIRPLANE THEN SLID OFF THE RUNWAY. THE OPERATOR'S DISPATCHER STATED HE TELEPHONED THE AIRPORT & WAS TOLD 'TO THE BEST OF HIS KNOWLEDGE THE RUNWAY CONDITION WAS GOOD'. THE AIRPORT PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR PLOWING THE RUNWAY STATED THAT THE SNOWPLOW HAD BROKEN DOWN, AND TOLD THE DISPATCHER TO TELL THE PILOT TO TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT THE RUNWAY BEFORE LANDING. IT WAS TOO DARK TO CHECK THE RUNWAY EARLIER IN THE MORNING. THERE WAS NO NOTAM IN EFFECT PERTAINING TO THE RUNWAY CONDITION. THE ALASKA SUPPLEMENT FLIP CAUTIONS ' RUNWAY CONDITION NOT MONITORED, RECOMMEND VISUAL INSPECTION PRIOR TO USING.' THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED 15 MINUTES AFTER THE BEGINNING OF CIVIL TWILIGHT, AND 44 MINUTES BEFORE OFFICIAL SUNRISE. THE PILOT STATED BECAUSE OF THE LIGHT CONDITIONS HE DID NOT SEE THE SNOWDRIFTS BEFORE BEFORE HITTING THEM.
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: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,100 hours in all; 2,800 in this make and model; 225 in the last 90 days; 48 in the last 30 days; 3,900 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 10,781 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, November 19, 1991; 87 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,800 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470R (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Hageland Aviation Services
The flight
- Departed from: BET Bethel AK at 1:55 pm
- Runway 15, 2,000 ft by 45 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dawn
- Wind: from 060° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 19°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 N91361 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.