Cessna 182 accident near Nikolai, Alaska, September 6, 1999
On September 6, 1999 at about 10:00 pm local time, a Cessna 182, registered N1881X, was substantially damaged in an accident near Nikolai, 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 selection of an unsuitable takeoff and landing area. Factors associated with this accident were the unfavorable winds, and sunglare.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 6, 1999 · about 10:00 pm local time
- Place
- Nikolai, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 182 · all 182s on the register
- Registration
- N1881X · no longer on the register · serial 18255981
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The solo private pilot was attempting to takeoff from a gravel bar with buffalo meat from a successful hunt. The airplane collided with a smaller gravel bar, sustaining substantial damage to the left wing, left horizontal stabilizer, left elevator, tail cone, and engine firewall. The left elevator was missing the outboard six inches, and the left elevator horn and balance weight. The Alaska State Trooper who discovered and documented the airplane the day after the accident, interviewed the pilot's hunting partner. The partner told the trooper the pilot said that during takeoff the wind died, he lost ground effect, and the sun was in his eyes. The trooper documented tire tracks on the large bar leading to the river's edge, and tracks on the smaller bar ending at the airplane. The pilot told the NTSB investigator-in-charge (IIC) that he landed on the smaller gravel bar the day prior to the accident, and the damage occurred while he was taxiing. A pilot who transported the accident pilot to a landing strip where he could arrange repairs told the NTSB IIC that the accident pilot taxied the airplane to the smaller gravel bar, across the 75 feet wide by 3 feet deep stretch of river at low water, and that the water level had risen. The trooper told the NTSB IIC that it did not appear possible to taxi an airplane between the two gravel bars.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; single-engine sea
- Flight time: 3,800 hours in all; 3,700 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (expired)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,166 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 18, 1997; 88 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,800 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Kuskokwim River AK at 5:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°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 N1881X 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.