Cessna 170 N3474C accident near Mckinley Village, Alaska

Probable cause

The pilot’s late decision to go-around, failure to maintain proper airspeed, and his exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack which resulted in an aerodynamic stall at too low of an altitude to recover.

NTSB analysis

The pilot stated that after a short local flight, he decided to return to the remote airstrip due to deteriorating weather conditions in the area. On the first attempt to land he was too high, and the approach was not stabilized, so he elected to go around. On the second attempt the approach was stabilized, but the airplane floated in ground effect longer than he expected, and he elected to go around again. During the second go around the airplane was unable to clear a 50 ft tall stand of trees at the end of the airstrip, so he initiated a right turn, but he was unable to maintain adequate airspeed, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall. The airplane subsequently settled into an area of tree-covered terrain, sustaining substantial damage to the left wing. The pilot reported there were no preimpact anomalies or failures that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ANC24LA103 for the full record.