- Date
- September 4, 2025, 21:31 local (Sep 5, 2025, 05:31 UTC)
- Place
- Unalakleet, AK
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N242BCAmerican Champion 8GCBC
- Defining event
- Landing: Nose over/nose down
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- 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/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20250904012369A
- Case key
- 200970
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 pilots encounter with an obstructed dip in the landing surface during the landing roll out on a remote airstrip, which resulted in a noseover.
Findings · 4
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 landed a tailwheel equipped airplane on a remote airstrip. During the landing rollout, while reducing engine power and holding the control stick fully aft, the airplane encountered an obstructed dip in the airstrip surface. As the airplane rolled through the dip, the pilot was unable to arrest the resulting nose down pitch. The airplane subsequently nosed over and came to rest inverted, sustaining substantial damage to the rudder and left wing. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N242BC
- Reported as
- American Champion 8GCBC
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 534-2010
- Built
- 2011
- Airframe hours
- 1,079.9
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-C1G, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 9, 2024 · 91 hours before
- Departed
- PAUN · Unalakleet, AK
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- remote strip
- Equipment
- Electronic primary flight display, ADS-B, Onboard weather
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
- 40
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- June 26, 2025
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 5,913 total · 399 in this make and model · 4,856 as pilot in command · 179 in the last 90 days · 51 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 1,700 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 48 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.93 inHg
- Observed at
- AUN, 66 nm away
- METAR
- PAUN 050456Z AUTO 24010KT 10SM OVC017 09/07 A2993 RMK AO2 SLP138 T00940072
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 22, 2026, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.7 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.
Other investigations on N242BC · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.