# Incident 20170705009909I: Cessna 180G, Port Heiden, AK, July 5, 2017 - Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: July 5, 2017, 16:05 local time - Place: Port Heiden, AK - Damage: Minor damage - Phase of flight: Taxi - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 56.9326° N, 158.6250° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Port Heiden, AK, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=56.9326&lon=-158.6250&mi=10 - Aircraft: N4734U, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N4734U-2020-02-10) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Cessna 180G (registry code 2072616, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-180g) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Continental O-470 series (registry code 17026, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-o-470-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 180G - People aboard: 4 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Other injuries: 0 - Pilot certificates: Airline transport - Pilot flight hours: 7,500 total, 550 in this make and model, 35 in the last 90 days - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20170705009909I ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. PORT HEIDEN, AK (PTH) : N4734U, C180, INITIALLY REPORTED AS POSS ACFT ACCIDENT ON BEACH SW OF PTH; CDB FSS REC'D SAT PHONE CALL FROM FISHING VESSEL SAW ACFT CIRCLE TO LAND. AFTER LANDING ON BEACH APPROX 26 MILES SW OF PTH... VESSEL THEN RPT'D SEEING FOUR PEOPLE WALKING AROUND, NO SIGN OF DISTRESS OR ATTEMPTS MADE TO SIGNAL THE FISHING VESSEL; INFO PASSED TO RCC & USCG... @ 0716Z; ZAN RECEIVED CALL FROM THE PILOT AND REPORTED GEAR FAILURE WHILE TAXIING ON BEACH; AND THE ACFT WAS THEN SWEPT AWAY IN TIDE; PILOTS STATEMENT: I HAD FLOWN TO KING SALMON THE NIGHT BEFORE AND SPENT THE NIGHT. WE LEFT EARLY MORNING ABOUT 8 AM AND TRAVELED SOUTH WEST STOPPING A COUPLE OF TIMES ON THE BEACHES FOR BEACHCOMBING. THE THIRD TIME WE LANDED, AGAIN WITHOUT INCIDENT, AT THE LOW TIDE MARK AND SLOWED THE AIRCRAFT DOWN. AS I ATTEMPTED TO TURN TO THE RIGHT TO TRAVEL AWAY FROM THE LOW TIDE MARK AND GET FURTHER UP FROM THE BEACH THE LEFT LANDING GEAR COLLAPSED. THERE WAS NO MAJOR DAMAGE TO THE AIRCRAFT EXCEPT THE LANDING GEAR, BUT WE HAD NO WAY TO MOVE THE AIRCRAFT. I CALLED MY WIFE TO ARRANGE TO HAVE A HELICOPTER COME PICK UP MY AIRCRAFT. A HELICOPTER CAME AND THEN WE MET IN AKN AT 2030 HOURS. AFTER A CONVERSATION WITH THE HELICOPTER PILOT IT WAS DECIDED THAT WE WOULD GO EARLY IN THE MORNING TO RECOVER THE AIRCRAFT. UPON OUR RETURN AT 0500 HRS WE DISCOVERED THAT THE TIDE HAD COMPLETELY WASHED MY AIRCRAFT OUT TO SEA. NO RECOVERY WAS ACCOMPLISHED. THE AIRCRAFT WAS GONE. 3 OCTOBER 2018 - NOTIFIED BY THE NTSB THAT AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT WAS CHANGED TO A SPECIAL OCCURRENCE, NTSB # ANC17SA036. THE FAA HAS CHANGED THE ACCIDENT TO AN INCIDENT AS REQUIRED. ## Other reports on N4734U (2) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Accident 19940915027959A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19940915027959A), Sep 15, 1994: Cessna 180G (N4734U), Cut Bank, MT, Substantial damage. Veered off runway and ground looped during landing. Blamed a wind gust. - [Accident 19850718032249A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19850718032249A), Jul 18, 1985: Cessna 180G (N4734U), Harrison, AR, Substantial damage. Bounced on first touchdown. Aircraft veered on rollout and wing came up. Left main collapsed. From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.