Cessna 177 accident near Boulder City, Nevada, August 10, 1999
On August 10, 1999 at about 9:40 pm local time, a Cessna 177, registered N29437, was destroyed in an accident near Boulder City, Nevada. It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The flight instructor's inadequate supervision of the flight and his failure to maintain an adequate airspeed and altitude margin while conducting low altitude maneuvers in an area of strong gusty winds and terrain-induced turbulence likely to contain wind shear conditions.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 10, 1999 · about 9:40 pm local time
- Place
- Boulder City, Nevada · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 177 · all 177s on the register
- Registration
- N29437 · no longer on the register · serial 17700887
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The purpose of the flight was to provide airplane familiarization to the pilot who had recently purchased the airplane. Winds were from the southeast at 20 knots gusting to 25 knots. The CFI flew with the owner's son an hour prior to the accident with no discrepancies noted with the airframe or powerplant. On their flight, the CFI had the son do a simulated engine-out procedure in the box canyon where the accident subsequently occurred; the flight profile was similar to the one described by witnesses for the accident sequence. The son terminated the procedure and informed the CFI that he was uncomfortable with being so low over the canyon. A witness to the accident saw the airplane turn into the box canyon flush with the top of a bluff, approximately 100 feet above the canyon floor, and then make a tight left turn; the turn was followed by a dust cloud from the impact. He did not hear a sound change or sputtering from the engine, and described the engine as producing power. Emergency response personnel who flew to the accident site within an hour of the crash reported encountering swirling, turbulent winds as they descended below the canyon rim that made their approach into the box canyon very difficult. After obtaining witness statements, the flight crew flew the described flight path. They noted that as they initiated and subsequently completed the turn, the helicopter was pushed by the winds down and towards the accident site. The airframe and powerplant were inspected with no discrepancies noted.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,190 hours in all; 130 in this make and model; 384 in the last 90 days; 161 in the last 30 days; 1,019 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,456 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 14, 1999
- Maximum gross weight: 2,350 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A1A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 61B at 8:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 150° at 20 knots, gusting 25
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 14,000 ft
- Temperature: 91°F (33°C), dew point 50°F (10°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:56 pm from LAS, 35 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 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.