Cessna 172 accident near Aguiguan Island, Mp, July 4, 1997
On July 4, 1997 at about 9:30 am local time, a Cessna 172, registered N8189B, was substantially damaged in an accident near Aguiguan Island (Private Dirt Strip airport). 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 runway alignment while landing on an undeveloped private dirt strip.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 4, 1997 · about 9:30 am local time
- Place
- Aguiguan Island, Northern Mariana Islands · Private Dirt Strip
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172 · all 172s on the register
- Registration
- N8189B · no longer on the register · serial 29989
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
A witness reported that the pilot had returned to the island airstrip to pick up passengers. The aircraft landed and swerved to the left cutting the tops of the Tangantangan trees. The pilot refused to submit a written statement to the Safety Board. In an interview with the FAA, the pilot reported that he was carrying supplies to the island for the workers who were clearing a wider path for the aircraft to land on. On final approach the pilot lined up left of the runway, clipping trees with the left wing. FAA records disclosed that the pilot was denied a medical in 1996.
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
- Flight time: 4,000 hours in all; 150 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: None
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 2,705 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-300 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Saipan at 8:24 am
- 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.
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.