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.
Bettles, AK
The commercial certificated pilot was landing at a remote mining airstrip to repair an area of soft ground on the strip. The pilot reported that rain was falling at the time. The airstrip is about 1,000 feet long, and 50 feet wide, at an elevation of 1,120 feet msl. During the landing roll after touchdown, the left main tire entered the area of soft ground. The airplane ground looped to the left, and received damage to the right wing, the right horizontal stabilizer, and the right elevator.
The pilot's selection of unsuitable terrain for landing. A factor was soft terrain.
On August 7, 1999, about 2300 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Cessna A188-B airplane, N731UW, sustained substantial damage during landing at a remote mining airstrip, about 50 miles north of Bettles, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) cross-country personal flight under Title 14 CFR Part 91 when the accident occurred. The airplane was registered to Allwest Freight Corp., Flat, Alaska, and operated by the pilot. The commercial certificated pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight originated at the Nenana Municipal Airport, Nenana, Alaska, about 2130. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), on August 9, 1999, the pilot reported he was landing toward the south at the mine airstrip. The airstrip is oriented north/south, and is about 1,000 feet long, and 50 feet wide, at an elevation of 1,120 feet msl. The pilot said rain was falling, and he was flying to the airstrip to repair an area of soft ground on the strip. During the landing roll, the left main tire entered the area of soft ground. The airplane ground looped to the left, and received damage to the right wing, the right horizontal stabilizer, and the right elevator. The pilot did not submit a Pilot/Operator report (NTSB form 6120.1/2).