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| Date: | Friday 16 June 2023 |
| Time: | 11:35 |
| Type: |  Cessna 180H Skywagon |
| Owner/operator: | Golden Eagle Outfitters Inc |
| Registration: | N91361 |
| MSN: | 18052045 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1969 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 16920 hours |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Shaktoolik, AK -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Take off |
| Nature: | Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi |
| Departure airport: | Shaktoolik, AK (none) |
| Unalakleet Airport, AK (UNK/PAUN) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On June 16, 2023, about 1135 Alaska daylight time, a Cessna 180H airplane, N91361, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Shaktoolik, Alaska. The pilot and passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 on-demand charter flight.
The airplane was operated by Golden Eagle Outfitters, Inc. in support of a remote bear hunting excursion. Two hunting guides were waiting on a remote off-airport mountain ridgeline airstrip near their camp to be picked up and flown to Unalakleet Airport (PAUN) after a hunting trip. An hour before the accident, the pilot departed with two hunters/clients and told the guides he would be back to pick them up. When the pilot returned, he boarded one of the guides and some of their gear, then arranged to return for the other and the remaining gear.
The pilot and passenger were departing downhill in a southwesterly direction from a remote, sloped airstrip located on a mountain ridgeline. According to a witness, the pilot had three trips planned to the airstrip that day, transporting hunters and gear to a nearby village. The witness stated that, upon the pilot’s return to the airstrip following the first flight of the day, he reported to the pilot that, since his previous departure, the winds had increased and were “gusting and hanging a lot.” He watched the initial portion of the takeoff roll; nothing appeared abnormal, and he did not watch the remainder of the takeoff. He stated that, during previous departures, the airplane would typically dip out of sight below the departure end of the airstrip before continuing its climb out of the valley. When he did not see the airplane continue the climb, he went to the edge of the ridgeline and saw that the airplane had impacted tundra about 300 ft below the airstrip.
A small cluster of trees was present about 2/3 of the way down the left side of the 750-ft-long airstrip. One tree was fractured and displayed fragments of red paint that matched the accident airplane’s paint color. The left horizontal stabilizer displayed a concave dent perpendicular to the leading edge about 1 ft outboard of the stabilizer root. Tree sap and embedded tree fibers were observed in the leading edge of the horizontal stabilizer.
Examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation.
Review of weather information indicated the presence of north/northeasterly surface wind conditions in the area of the accident site. Another pilot, who responded to the accident site about 45 minutes after the accident, reported that the wind was “unusual” and variable, gusting 10-12 knots from the north before gusting 5 knots from the south and repeating. Based on the available information, it is likely that the pilot encountered gusting tailwind conditions during the takeoff, which resulted in the airplane veering left and impacting a tree, followed by a loss of control and impact with terrain.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s encounter with gusting tailwind conditions during takeoff, which resulted in impact with a tree, a loss of control, and subsequent impact with terrain.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/jim-tweto-dies-in-plane-crash-discovery-s-flying-wild-alaska-star-was-68/ar-AA1cNjuN?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=85393889ee904754b73e7e385642fdf0&ei=79
https://mustreadalaska.com/jim-tweto-legendary-alaska-bush-pilot-believed-to-be-in-cessna-that-went-down-in-western-alaska/
https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=192387
https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?NNumberTxt=91361
https://photos-e1.flightcdn.com/photos/retriever/7de0f7652e2a799923cab64188e26d7aeff1514c (photo)
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 6 January 1992 | N91361 | Hageland Aviation Services | 0 | Atmautluak, AK | |
sub |
Location
Images:
Photo: NTSB
Media:
NTSB investigating the crash of a Cessna 180H airplane near Unalakleet, Alaska.
— NTSB Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) June 16, 2023
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 17-Jun-2023 00:04 | Captain Adam | Added |
| 17-Jun-2023 01:49 | RobertMB | Updated |
| 17-Jun-2023 17:56 | Fibonacci | Updated |
| 20-Jun-2023 15:00 | johnwg | Updated |
| 24-Jun-2023 17:23 | Dan Gryder | Updated |
| 23-Jul-2025 07:15 | ASN | Updated [Departure airport, Damage, Narrative, ] |
| 23-Jul-2025 08:35 | Captain Adam | Updated [Departure airport, Source, Narrative, Photo, ] |
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