Pilot Debrief

CESSNA 210-5 near Yakutat, AK — 2025-07-24

Investigation ongoingANC25LA077
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Date
2025-07-24
Location
Yakutat, AK, USA
Aircraft
CESSNA 210-5
Registration
N8457Z
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0

Probable cause

NTSB has not published a probable cause for this accident yet. Preliminary reports describe what happened; the cause is determined later, often 12–24 months after the event.

NTSB narrative

On July 23, 2025, about 1700 Alaska daylight time, a Cessna 210-5 (205) airplane, N8457Z, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident on a remote beach about 50 miles southeast of Yakutat, Alaska. The pilot was uninjured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 on demand charter flight. The airplane was being operated by Yakutat Air, transporting a load of fresh fish from a remote beach site to Yakutat. According to the pilot, while departing from the wet, soft, sand-covered beach site, the airplane didn’t seem like it was accelerating as it should have been. He said that after takeoff the airplane traveled for about 100 ft before the right wing stalled, and the main landing gear wheel struck the sand-covered beach. Subsequently, the airplane bounced, and the right main landing gear contacted a piece of driftwood before being pulled sideways, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage, wings, and empennage (see figure 1). Figure 1. Accident airplane at the accident site (Courtesy of Operator) The pilot reported that the airplane’s weight at the time of the accident was 3,231 lbs., or 69 lbs. under the maximum allowable gross weight of the airplane. He stated that the available takeoff space on the beach was 1,500 ft. and that, during the takeoff roll, the engine seemed like it was running fine. The wreckage has been moved to a secure location and a detailed NTSB examination is pending.

Preliminary NTSB coding

  • Loss of engine power (partial) · Takeoff
  • Loss of Thrust on Takeoff
View NTSB preliminary report

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