Overall Trends
Total, fatal, and serious accidents in the selected range.
Search investigations, review source evidence, monitor watched reports, and trace long-term patterns from one calm, data-first workspace.
Fast key and full-text search with live filters, watches, and precise metadata.
Use quotes for exact phrase matches (for example "fuel selector valve").
Track fatal and non-fatal accident patterns across Part 91, Part 135, and Part 121 operations.
Major cases, deep-report coverage, and investigation media across decades of NTSB history.
Move quickly by aircraft, airport, operator, and time with indexes built for research, not wandering.
NTSB Reports is an independent research and search tool for public aviation accident and incident records. It brings NTSB aviation reports, structured fields, docket files, extracted figures, photos, videos, and update history into one searchable interface.
The goal is practical safety education: make it faster to find relevant investigations, compare similar events, review factual records, and understand the evidence behind probable-cause and preliminary reports.
The investigative work and source records belong to the National Transportation Safety Board and the published investigation record. This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by the NTSB.
Elk City, ID
The pilot was attempting to land at an 800-foot-long wilderness ranch airstrip, which he described as 'a one way strip with no go around for a plane with only 145 HP.' The pilot reported that on final approach to the strip, he saw two children chasing a horse across the strip from left to right. He stated an adult male then came from the right side of the strip and threw his hands up in front of the horse, stopping the horse on the landing surface. The pilot reported that at this point, with people on both sides of the strip and the horse standing on the strip, he attempted a go-around 'knowing [there] was no way the plane could [climb] out and over the trees and canyon at the end of the runway.' The airplane stalled about 60 feet above ground level and 'came down almost flat' onto a pile of large rocks. The pilot reported that no mechanical failure or malfunction was involved.
A horse and children wandered onto the airstrip.
On August 30, 1997, approximately 1930 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 170A, N1487D, was destroyed in a loss of control and collision with terrain during an attempted go-around at the Copenhaver (Badley Ranch) airstrip located in Idaho's Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness Area approximately 25 miles south of Elk City, Idaho. The pilot of the aircraft sustained serious injuries. No flight plan had been filed for the 14 CFR 91 flight, which originated at Grangeville, Idaho. The pilot reported that he was attempting to land to the south on the 800 by 30 foot dirt strip, which he described as "a one way strip with no go around for a plane with only 145 HP." The pilot stated that on final approach to the strip, he saw two children chasing a horse across the strip from left to right about 500 feet down the runway. He stated that at that point, an adult male came from the right side of the strip and threw his hands up in front of the horse, and that the horse then stopped on the landing surface. The pilot reported that at that point, with people standing on both sides of the strip and the horse stopped on the strip, he attempted a go-around, "knowing [there] was no way the plane could [climb] out and over the trees and canyon at the end of the runway." The airplane stalled about 60 feet above ground level and came down "almost flat" onto a pile of large rocks. The pilot reported that no mechanical failure or malfunction was involved in the accident.