Cessna 180J N52009

Summary

On 5 July 2025 at about 22:30 local time, a Cessna 180J registered N52009 was involved in an accident near King Salmon, Alaska, United States. 4 people were on board and 3 were seriously injured, one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. No probable cause has been published yet; this accident is still under investigation.

Date

5 July 2025 at 22:30

Classification

Accident

Location

King Salmon, Alaska, United States

Coordinates

58.5503, -155.7759

Aircraft

Cessna 180J

Registration

N52009

Category

Airplane

Year built

1974

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Port Alsworth → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC25LA065

3 people were seriously injured.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. The investigation is still open; a final report usually follows one to two years after the accident.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

On July 5, 2025, about 1430 Alaska daylight time, a Cessna 180J airplane, N52009, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near King Salmon, Alaska. The pilot and two passengers were seriously injured and one passenger sustained minor injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The float-equipped airplane departed from the Campbell Lake Seaplane Base (A11), Anchorage, Alaska about 1045 for a bear viewing trip at Katmai National Park and Preserve. While en route, the airplane made a stop at Port Alsworth Airport (TPO) to refuel before continuing to Katmai National Park and Preserve. The airplane departed TPO about 1340. During a postaccident interview with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), the pilot reported that, given his injuries, he was unable to remember the exact circumstances surrounding the accident. He recalled that he planned to land on Naknek Lake in front of the Brooks Camp Ranger Station. He remembered that he configured the airplane for landing by lowering the wing flaps to 20 degrees, and that the airspeed was between 80-90 knots as the airplane passed through 800 ft mean sea level (MSL). The last thing the pilot remembers is turning a right downwind so he could come over the trees and land closer to the beach to avoid a long taxi to parking. The airplane subsequently collided with a stand of trees and eventually came to rest in an area of wet, tundra-covered terrain, sustaining substantial damage to the wings, fuselage, and empennage. See figure 1. Figure 1. N52009 at the accident site. (Photo courtesy of Katmai National Park and Preserve) A witness at Lake Brooks was loading passengers into his floatplane when he heard the accident airplane fly overhead. He said that the engine sounded like normal cruise power, just before he heard what sounded like the engine going to full power, which was quickly followed by silence. He added that strong gusty southeasterly wind conditions, estimated between 20 to 30 knots prevailed at the time of the accident. A detailed NTSB wreckage examination is pending after recovery.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.