- Date
- July 24, 2025, 16:30 local (Jul 25, 2025, 00:30 UTC)
- Place
- Gulkana, AK
- Injuries
- 5 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N29110Cessna U206C
- Defining event
- Approach-VFR pattern final: Fuel starvation
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 9, 2026
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20250724010269A
- Case key
- 200630
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot’s inadequate fuel management, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that, while on short final, the engine lost all power. The pilot switched fuel tanks and activated the fuel boost pump; however, engine power was not restored. The airplane subsequently touched down about 100 ft short of the runway approach threshold and nosed over, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage and vertical stabilizer. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the left fuel tank was empty, and the right fuel tank was full; no anomalies were discovered with the fuel selector. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The operator stated that the accident could have been prevented with the proper use of the prelanding checklist.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N29110
- Reported as
- Cessna U206C
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- U206-1080
- Built
- 1968
- Airframe hours
- 11,568
- Engine
- Continental IO-520-F43B, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 135
- Operator
- Copper Valley Air Service LLC
- Registered owner
- Copper Valley Air Service LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · July 18, 2025 · 13 hours before
- Departed
- GKN · Glennallen, AK
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
- Airport
- GKN · Gulkana Airport, runway 33L, 2,300 × 60 ft, gravel
- Equipment
- Satellite tracking device, Handheld GPS
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 42
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- July 15, 2025
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 1,361 total · 309 in this make and model · 1,241 as pilot in command · 140 in the last 90 days · 52 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.97 inHg
- Observed at
- AGK, 1 nm away
- METAR
- PAGK 242353Z AUTO VRB03KT 10SM FEW080 21/04 A2997 RMK AO2 SLP153 6//// T02060039 TSNO $
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 9, 2026, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.4 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.