Cessna 172 accident near Eagle River, Alaska, September 3, 1996
On September 3, 1996 at about 1:30 am local time, a Cessna 172, registered N8739B, was destroyed in an accident near Eagle River, Alaska. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 3 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The first pilot's failure to maintain sufficient distance/altitude from terrain. A box canyon and mountainous terrain are factors in the accident.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 3, 1996 · about 1:30 am local time
- Place
- Eagle River, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 3 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172 · all 172s on the register
- Registration
- N8739B · no longer on the register · serial 36439
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
Two certificated airline transport pilots and a passenger planned an aerial scouting flight, looking for sheep in mountainous terrain. After departure, the flight did not return and the airplane was located crashed into the side of a steep box canyon. All of the occupants were located outside of, and downslope from the wreckage, having egressed from the wreckage through the left door. The manner and circumstances of their egress was not determined. No mechanical malfunction of the engine or airframe were found.
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, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,760 hours in all; 13 in the last 90 days; 4 in the last 30 days; 1,602 as pilot in command; 86 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,480 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 26, 1996; 4 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,200 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-300A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: ANC Anchorage AK at 7:40 pm
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 280° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:35 pm from BCV, 12 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| 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 N8739B 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.