Cessna 180 accident near Mc Carthy, Alaska, July 30, 1996
On July 30, 1996 at about 9:30 pm local time, a Cessna 180, registered N1746C, was substantially damaged in an accident near Mc Carthy, Alaska. 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 instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadequate weather evaluation, and his inadvertent flight into instrument meteorological conditions.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 30, 1996 · about 9:30 pm local time
- Place
- Mc Carthy, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 180 · all 180s on the register
- Registration
- N1746C · registry record · serial 30446
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The air taxi pilot related he was flying a company airplane on a personal flight in a mountain pass when the weather began to deteriorate. This was the pilot's third flight of the day in the same pass. He said he turned the airplane around in an attempt to exit the pass, but the clouds had lowered and he could no longer see the exit to the pass. He elected to make a precautionary landing on the tundra in lieu of attempting to continue the flight through the pass. The main landing gear separated from the airplane during the landing.
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: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 8,000 hours in all; 3,500 in this make and model; 100 in the last 90 days; 70 in the last 30 days; 8,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,400 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, June 15, 1996; 70 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,950 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Destination: White River AK
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 13 knots
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 39°F (4°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.
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 ANC96LA110.