Cessna 172 N6831A

Summary

On 22 September 2025 at about 18:57 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N6831A was involved in an accident near Anacortes, Washington, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. No probable cause has been published yet; this accident is still under investigation.

Date

22 September 2025 at 18:57

Classification

Accident

Location

Anacortes, Washington, United States

Nearest airport

Anacortes Airport (74S)

Coordinates

48.5126, -122.6490

Aircraft

Cessna 172

Registration

N6831A

Category

Airplane

Year built

1956

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Friday Harbor

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR25LA307

Nobody was injured.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. The investigation is still open; a final report usually follows one to two years after the accident.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

On September 22, 2025, about 1157 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 172, N6831A, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Anacortes, Washington. The pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to the pilot, he intended to fly the airplane from Anacortes Airport (74S), Anacortes, Washington, to Friday Harbor Airport (FHR), Friday Harbor, Washington. The engine run up was normal, and the pilot departed runway 36. As the airplane was about 400 ft mean sea level (msl), as it crossed the shoreline, the engine began to sputter and subsequently lost all power. The pilot lowered the airplane’s nose to maintain its best glide airspeed and saw that a parking lot west of his position was full of vehicles, and he began a right turn. He stated that he was unable to complete a 180° turn to return to the runway and flew over the water as he attempted to restart the engine. The pilot verified that the fuel selector was positioned on both, the mixture was rich, cycled the throttle and carburetor heat control knobs, and tried both left and right magentos; all with no response from the engine. Subsequently, the pilot initiated a water ditching near the mouth of the Guemes Channel, about 1.5 miles northeast of 74S. Postaccident examination revealed substantial damage to both wings. The wreckage was recovered to a secure location for further examination.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.