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ANC24LA103

2024-09-16 · McKinley Village, Alaska, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Current FAA registration · N3474C

Make / Model
CESSNA 170
Year of manufacture
1954 · 70 years old at event
Engine
CONT MOTOR 0-300 SER (145 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19570301
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A3DA36

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s late decision to go-around, failure to maintain proper airspeed, and his exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack which resulted in an aerodynamic stall at too low of an altitude to recover.

Factual narrative

The pilot stated that after a short local flight, he decided to return to the remote airstrip due to deteriorating weather conditions in the area. On the first attempt to land he was too high, and the approach was not stabilized, so he elected to go around. On the second attempt the approach was stabilized, but the airplane floated in ground effect longer than he expected, and he elected to go around again. During the second go around the airplane was unable to clear a 50 ft tall stand of trees at the end of the airstrip, so he initiated a right turn, but he was unable to maintain adequate airspeed, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall. The airplane subsequently settled into an area of tree-covered terrain, sustaining substantial damage to the left wing. The pilot reported there were no preimpact anomalies or failures that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • — Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot
  • — Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Pilot
  • — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Airspeed-Not attained/maintained
  • — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Angle of attack-Not attained/maintained
  • — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Tree(s)-Contributed to outcome

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2024_ANC24LA103.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (stall, go-around). All research papers