Cessna 182D accident near Big Creek, Idaho, July 9, 1999
On July 9, 1999 at about 2:29 pm local time, a Cessna 182D, registered N8761X, was destroyed in an accident near Big Creek, Idaho (Big Creek airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 4 people were killed. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain control of the aircraft during approach. Factors included high density altitude conditions and high terrain, which obstructed view of the runway and limited maneuvering space in the traffic pattern.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 9, 1999 · about 2:29 pm local time
- Place
- Big Creek, Idaho · Big Creek · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 4 people were killed.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Cessna 182D · all 182Ds on the register
- Registration
- N8761X · no longer on the register · serial 18253161
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight departed Boise about 0701 for a reported destination of Smiley Creek, a remote backcountry airstrip. The pilot did not file a flight plan for the flight. Radar tracked the airplane proceeding directly toward Smiley Creek until radar contact was lost near the Smiley Creek airstrip about 0734. There was no further contact with the aircraft. Three days later, a concerned individual reported one of the aircraft occupants as missing, and a search for the aircraft was initiated. The FAA Alert Notice (ALNOT) on the missing aircraft listed Smiley Creek and Big Creek (a remote backcountry airport 77 nautical miles northwest of Smiley Creek) as potential flight destinations (the occupants had accommodation reservations at a tourist lodge at the Big Creek airport starting on the night the flight departed Boise but never checked in to the lodge.) The aircraft wreckage was found later that evening about 100 yards north of the north end of the Big Creek airport runway. The aircraft was destroyed, and all occupants were found dead at the accident scene. Impact path signatures and wreckage condition and distribution at the scene were consistent with an uncontrolled, relatively low-speed impact on a southerly flight path indicative of an attempt to land at Big Creek to the south (the airport's normal landing direction.) The pilot's wristwatch was stopped at approximately 8:29. Investigators found no evidence of any mechanical problems with the aircraft during an on-site examination of the wreckage. McCall, Idaho, 37 nautical miles away from the accident site and about 700 feet lower in elevation than Big Creek, reported weather conditions equating to a density altitude of about 5,400 feet at McCall at 0850. The Big Creek airport, located in a valley, has a ridge adjacent to, and east of, the runway, such that visual contact with the runway is lost for much of the downwind and turn-to-final portions of the approach; visual contact with the runway is not regained until shortly before rolling out on final.
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: 247 hours in all; 86 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 2, 1998
- Maximum gross weight: 2,650 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470-R (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: BOI Boise ID at 1:01 pm
- Destination: U60
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 19, 3,550 ft by 110 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 54°F (12°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:50 pm from MYL, 37 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
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.