# Accident 20250922019419A: Cessna 172, Anacortes, WA, September 22, 2025

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 22, 2025, 11:50 local time
- Place: Anacortes, WA
- Airport: Anacortes
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Takeoff: Climb Out
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 48.5126° N, 122.6490° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=48.5126&lon=-122.6490&mi=10
- Aircraft: N6831A, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N6831A) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 172 (registry code 2072402, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental 0-300 series (registry code 17022, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-300-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 172
- Reported engine: CONT MOTOR 0-300 SER
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Airline transport
- Pilot flight hours: 28,113 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB WPR25LA307](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR25LA307) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20250922019419A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

ON MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22ND, PIC WAS PLANNING TO FLY FROM ANACORTES AIRPORT (74S) TO FRIDAY HARBOR AIRPORT (KFHR) IN HIS  1956 CESSNA 172, N6831A.  PIC TOOK OFF ON RUNWAY 36 TO THE NORTH. ON CLIMB OUT, PIC FELT LIKE HE MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN GETTING FULL PERFORMANCE. JUST PAST THE SHORELINE, AT APPROXIMATELY 400 FEET THE ENGINE SPUTTERED AND DIED. PIC LOWERED THE NOSE TO STAY AT BEST GLIDE OF 80. AFTER LOOKING FOR POTENTIAL LANDING SPOT, PIC REALIZED HE WAS GOING TO HAVE TO AIM FOR THE WATER. PIC FLARED JUST ABOVE THE WATER AND THE MAIN WHEELS TOUCHED AND GRABBED THE WATER CAUSING VIOLENT IMPACT AND INSTANTLY WAS POINTED NOSE-DOWN IN THE SEA. PIC THEN GRABBED HIS LIFEJACKET, FORCED THE DOOR OPEN AND EXITED THE AIRCRAFT.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB WPR25LA307](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR25LA307), Sep 22, 2025: Cessna 172 (N6831A), Anacortes, WA, substantial damage, investigation ongoing

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.

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