Amateur-built 2+2 accident near Wasilla, Alaska, August 3, 1996
On August 3, 1996 at about 5:45 pm local time, a amateur-built 2+2, registered N5045X, was substantially damaged in an accident near Wasilla, 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 visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane which resulted in an inadvertent stall/mush. A factor associated with the accident was the pilot's low altitude skidding maneuver.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 3, 1996 · about 5:45 pm local time
- Place
- Wasilla, Alaska
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built 2+2
- Registration
- N5045X · registry record · serial 42
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported he was taking off from a private lake in his float-equipped amateur-built experimental airplane. Shortly after lift-off, he saw another airplane departing a private airstrip near the opposing shoreline. The pilot said a collision was not imminent, but he elected to skid the airplane to the left to provide better separation. He said he was unable to recover from the skid, and the airplane quit flying, subsequently colliding with trees near the shore.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 13,200 hours in all; 2 in this make and model; 130 in the last 90 days; 107 in the last 30 days; 5,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 181 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 1, 1996; 2 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,100 lb
- Seats: 3
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 80 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 55°F (13°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.
Other NTSB records under N5045X 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.