Cessna 170 N3474C

Summary

On 17 September 2024 at about 03:00 local time, a Cessna 170 registered N3474C was involved in an accident near McKinley Village, Alaska, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

17 September 2024 at 03:00

Classification

Accident

Location

McKinley Village, Alaska, United States

Coordinates

63.6333, -148.2500

Aircraft

Cessna 170

Registration

N3474C

Category

Airplane

Year built

1954

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

McKinley Village → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC24LA103

Nobody was injured.

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.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB 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.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.