# NTSB ANC25LA101: Cessna 180, N2996C, Willow, AK, September 1, 2025 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report - Date: September 1, 2025, 11:00 local (19:00 UTC) - Place: Willow, AK · Willow airport - Coordinates: 61.7526, -150.0544 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=61.7526&lon=-150.0544&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Takeoff](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/300) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Takeoff: Nose over/nose down](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report May 21, 2026 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - Parties: FAA - NTSB case key (mKey): 200963 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC25LA101 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/200963/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=200963 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC25LA101 ## Probable cause The pilot’s decision to takeoff from an unsuitable runway due to large puddles of water, which resulted in a nose over. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Info processing/decision: decision making/judgment](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 180, 16 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md?model=2072602), [All aircraft, 3,098 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md) - [Terrain: water](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03021020): Environmental issues › Physical environment · Contributed to outcome (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 180, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03021020/cases.md?model=2072602), [All aircraft, 97 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03021020/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Takeoff: Nose over/nose down](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096) (defining event); cases with it: [Cessna 180, 29 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096/sequence.md?model=2072602), [All aircraft, 2,287 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot reported that flooding had recently occurred at his location and standing water remained in some places on the runway. He taxied up and down the runway and determined it was safe to depart. During the takeoff roll, the airplane experienced resistance when it contacted the first puddle of water, which forced the nose of the airplane down, resulting in a nose over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing lift strut, vertical stabilizer and rudder. The pilot reported that there were no pre impact mechanical failures or malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N2996C](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N2996C), registered now, S/N 30896, built 1954 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 180 - Registry model: [Cessna 180](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-180) (registry code 2072602) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental O-470 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-o-470-series) (registry code 17026, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 30896 - Year built: 1954 - Engines: Continental O-470A 230 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Airport: PVT, Pvt, runway 1, 1,100 × 42 ft, dirt - Equipment: Stall warning system, ADS-B, Electronic primary flight display ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 45; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, without waivers/limitations; last flight review August 16, 2025; seat: left; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 400 total, 300 in this make and model, 320 as pilot in command, 75 in the last 90 days, 50 in the last 30 days, 0 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 7,000 ft overcast - Temperature: 61 °F, dew point 48 °F - Altimeter: 30.19 inHg - Observed at: PAWS, 18 nm away - METAR: PAWS 011856Z AUTO VRB05KT 10SM OVC070 16/09 A3019 RMK AO2 SLP223 T01560089 ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20250901015139A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20250901015139A), Sep 1, 2025: Cessna 180, Willow, AK, Substantial damage. The airman stated that on sept 1,2025 he reinstalled the battery and ELT back into the Cessna 180 after being partially submerged by water at a cabin on the… ## Docket (2 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 22, 2026, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=200963. 2.1 MB in all. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 10 pages, 1.6 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19265960&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=ANC25LA101%206120_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Investigative photographs (item 2, PDF, 5 pages, 527 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19266182&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=ANC25LA101%20Photos-Rel.pdf 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.