- Date
- August 2, 2025, 11:00 local (19:00 UTC)
- Place
- Chisana, AK · Gravel bar
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N900HYAviat A-1B
- Defining event
- Maneuvering-low-alt flying: Low altitude operation/event
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 23, 2025
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20250802011279A
- Case key
- 200687
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 NTSB’s determination of the probable cause, and any contributing factors.
The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from terrain while maneuvering at low altitude.
Findings · 9
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings.
Analysis
The pilot reported that he was flying low-level over various remote gravel bars looking for a suitable one to land on. During a low pass over a gravel bar, the airplane’s tailwheel impacted an area of rough, uneven terrain, which pivoted the nose of the airplane down, resulting in a hard, inadvertent landing. The main landing gear wheels subsequently impacted a 3 ft high gravel berm, and the main landing gear collapsed resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage and left wing lift struts. A postaccident examination of the landing gear by the NTSB investigator-in-charge revealed all fractures in the landing gear were from overload forces from the hard landing.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N900HY
- Reported as
- Aviat A-1B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 2362
- Built
- 2006
- Airframe hours
- 500
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-A1D6, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 1, 2024
- Departed
- 6k8 · Tok, AK
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Equipment
- None
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
- 31
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- February 8, 2025
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- 5-point
- Flight hours
- 128 total · 52 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 63 °F, dew point 50 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.08 inHg
- Observed at
- AOR, 41 nm away
- METAR
- PAOR 021853Z VRB03KT 10SM SCT050 SCT080 17/10 A3008 RMK AO2 SLP186 T01720100 $
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 23, 2025, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.8 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.