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.
Wulik River, AK
THE PILOT SAID WHILE ATTEMPTING TO TAKEOFF FROM A MOUNTAIN RIDGE, THE LEFT MAIN WHEEL ENTERED A DEPRESSION AND HE HAD TO USE HARDER THAN NORMAL CONTROL FORCES TO KEEP THE AIRPLANE ALIGNED WITH THE TAKEOFF PATH. WHEN THE AIRPLANE CAME OUT OF THE DEPRESSION, IT BOUNCED INTO THE AIR AND BECAUSE OF THE LEFT QUARTERING HEADWIND, IT CAME BACK DOWN ON THE RIGHT MAIN WHEEL AND THE RIGHT WING. THE AIRPLANE THEN SPUN AROUND CLOCKWISE ABOUT 180 DEGREES AND HIT ON THE NOSE, THEN THE LEFT WING. BOTH MAIN LANDING GEAR BOXES WERE TORN OUT OF THE FUSELAGE, WHICH WAS ALSO DAMAGED.
THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN CONTROL OF THE AIRPLANE. A FACTOR WAS THE CROSSWIND.
On September 2, 1993, at 2230 Alaska daylight time, the pilot of a wheel equipped Cessna 170 airplane, N2384D, lost control and dragged a wing while attempting to takeoff from a mountain ridge near the Wulik River, approximately 80 miles northwest of Kotzebue, Alaska. The airline transport pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured, and the airplane was substantially damaged. The personal flight, operating under 14 CFR Part 91, was destined for another remote landing area located about 1 mile away from the accident site. Visual meteorological conditions existed, and a VFR flight plan was filed. When the pilot was contacted by telephone on September 7, 1993, he stated the following, in part: "During the takeoff roll, the left main wheel got into a depression and I had to use harder than normal control forces to keep the airplane aligned with the takeoff path. When the airplane came out of the depression, it bounced into the air and because of the left quartering headwind, it came back down on the right main wheel and the right wing. The airplane then spun around clockwise about 180 degrees and hit on the nose, then the left wing. Both main landing gear boxes were torn out of the fuselage, which was also damaged." The pilot's statement on the accident report (NTSB Form 6120.1/2) varies considerably from his telephone statement on September 7, 1993.