# NTSB ANC25LA065: Cessna 180J, N52009, King Salmon, AK, July 5, 2025 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Serious injuries · Class 3 · Limited · Preliminary report - Date: July 5, 2025, 14:30 local (22:30 UTC) - Place: King Salmon, AK · Swamp - Coordinates: 58.550313, -155.77591 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=58.5503&lon=-155.7759&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing: Loss of control in flight](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240) - Highest injury: Serious injuries - Injuries: 3 serious, 1 minor - Status: Investigation ongoing - Investigation class: Class 3 - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - Parties: FAA - NTSB case key (mKey): 200464 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC25LA065 - NTSB preliminary report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/200464/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC25LA065 ## Preliminary report 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. ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Landing: Loss of control in flight](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240) (defining event); cases with it: [Cessna 180J, 3 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/sequence.md?model=2072622), [All aircraft, 5,002 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/sequence.md) ## Aircraft - Registration: [N52009](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N52009), registered now, S/N 18052438, built 1974 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 180J - Registry model: [Cessna 180J](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-180j) (registry code 2072622) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental O-470 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-o-470-series) (registry code 17026, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 18052438 - Year built: 1974 - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, May 9, 2025 - Departed: TPO, Port Alsworth, AK - Destination: Same as departure - Equipment: None ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 100° at 9 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 7,500 ft broken - Temperature: 57 °F, dew point 46 °F - Altimeter: 29.83 inHg - Turbulence: Light - Observed at: PAKN, 29 nm away - METAR: PAKN 052154Z 10009KT 10SM FEW060 BKN075 OVC090 14/08 A2983 RMK AO2 SLP100 T01440083 ## Other investigations on N52009 (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 FTW76DRD51](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW76DRD51), Jun 23, 1976: Cessna 180 (N52009), Bayon Pigeon, LA, substantial damage 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. --- 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.