Cessna 185 accidents

The NTSB database holds 1,004 accidents and incidents involving the Cessna 185, recorded between 1964 to 2025. 83 of them were fatal (8%), and 176 people died.

The deadliest year was 1977, with 12 deaths.

The phase of flight recorded most often is landing (252 records).

Most of these records are from United States, Canada and Africa.

617 of these records have no coordinates in the source data, so they appear in the list below but not on the map.

1,004

Records

Fatal

176

Deaths

Share fatal

1964 to 2025

Period

Show these on the map 387 of 1,004 have coordinates

By decade

1960s 138

1970s 327

1980s 223

1990s 173

2000s 103

2010s 24

2020s 16

Where these happened

United States 979 Canada 5 Africa 3 Unknown/Not Reported 2 Colombia 2 Argentina 1

Operators involved

Wien Alaska Airlines, Inc. 5 Frontier Flyin 4 Homer Air Serv 4 Intracoastal S 3 Green River AV 3 Foster Aviatio 3

All 1,004 records by number of deaths, then by date

Date	Aircraft	Location	Operator	Outcome	Died
3 Nov 1994	Cessna 185 N6688H	Elizabethton, Tennessee, United States	-	No injuries	-
14 Oct 1994	Cessna 185 N9497N	Apple Valley, California, United States	Calif. Highway Patrol	Unknown	-
9 Oct 1994	Cessna 185F N53074	Rochester, Massachusetts, United States no coordinates	-	No injuries	-
6 Oct 1994	Cessna 185 N95DM	Abbeville, Louisiana, United States	-	No injuries	-
8 Jun 1994	Cessna 185 N4471R	Kassan Bay, Alaska, United States	Taquan Air	No injuries	-
29 May 1994	Cessna 185F N93769	Fairbanks, Alaska, United States	Thor Einarson	No injuries	-
13 Mar 1994	Cessna 185 N4732E	Fort Lewis, Washington, United States no coordinates	McMahon, BOB D.	No injuries	-
20 Dec 1993	Cessna 185 N581JB	Grand Island, Nebraska, United States no coordinates	John P. Bresina	No injuries	-
18 Sep 1993	Cessna 185 N84627	Ketchikan, Alaska, United States	Ketchikan Air Service, Inc.	No injuries	-
15 Aug 1993	Cessna 185 N3374R	Nome, Alaska, United States	U.s. Dept. of the Interior	Unknown	-
14 Aug 1993	Cessna 185 N20752	Point Barrow, Alaska, United States	Cape Smythe Air Service	No injuries	-
12 Aug 1993	Cessna 185C N2690Z	Stibnite, Idaho, United States	Pere Air	No injuries	-
1 Jul 1993	Cessna 185 N93018	Wasilla, Alaska, United States no coordinates	Johnson, Gerald D.	Minor injuries	-
20 Jun 1993	Cessna 185 N1679Z	Victory, Alaska, United States	Hansen, JAN K.	No injuries	-
12 Jun 1993	Cessna 185 N8536L	Arctic Village, Alaska, United States	Klawitter, Mike	No injuries	-
31 May 1993	Cessna 185F N185TD	Gustavus, Alaska, United States	Carpenter, Peter F.	No injuries	-
29 May 1993	Cessna 185 N80124	Bulchitna Lake, Alaska, United States	White, Carl H.	No injuries	-
23 May 1993	Cessna 185 N75LE	Barrow, Alaska, United States	ROY, Milton	No injuries	-
23 May 1993	Cessna 185A N4080Y	Lowell, Idaho, United States	Forbes, Clarence, R.	No injuries	-
14 Mar 1993	Cessna 185 N61500	Barrow, Alaska, United States	Cape Symthe Air	No injuries	-
21 Feb 1993	Cessna 185F N252W	Bridgeport, Nebraska, United States	Garold N. Batterman	No injuries	-
4 Feb 1993	Cessna 185E N5849J	North Bend, Oregon, United States	Cordell, Steven D.	Minor injuries	-
13 Dec 1992	Cessna 185F N4742E	Lanai, Hawaii, United States	Wings of Hope, Inc.	No injuries	-
28 Nov 1992	Cessna 185 N20752	Point Hope, Alaska, United States	Cape Smythe Air Service	No injuries	-
29 Sep 1992	Cessna 185 N4891Q	Petersburg, Alaska, United States	Rodney Judy	No injuries	-
15 Sep 1992	Cessna 185 N9395N	Kotzebue, Alaska, United States	U.s. National Park Service	Unknown	-
3 Sep 1992	Cessna 185 N93766	Dover Foxcroft, Maine, United States no coordinates	PAT Andrews	No injuries	-
30 Aug 1992	Cessna 185E N3347L	Yakutat, Alaska, United States	Gulf Air Taxi, Inc.	No injuries	-
29 Jul 1992	Cessna 185F N22FG	Termo, California, United States	Calif. Dept of Fish and Game	Unknown	-
1 Jul 1992	Cessna 185F N4874Q	Ekuk, Alaska, United States	Danial P. Seybert	No injuries	-
21 Jun 1992	Cessna 185 N1589F	Sole Lake, Alaska, United States	Hudson Air Service	No injuries	-
18 Jun 1992	Cessna 185F N125KT	Talkeetna, Alaska, United States	K2 Aviation	No injuries	-
13 Jun 1992	Cessna 185 N9823X	Durango, Colorado, United States	Heath, Jack L.	No injuries	-
30 May 1992	Cessna 185E N3349L	Lone Pine, California, United States	Joseph A. Johnson	Minor injuries	-
24 May 1992	Cessna 185 N124KT	Kahiltna Glacie, Alaska, United States	JIM and Julie Okonek	No injuries	-
8 Mar 1992	Cessna 185 N60945	Barrow, Alaska, United States	North Slope Borough	Unknown	-
19 Feb 1992	Cessna 185F N4948Q	Pelican, Alaska, United States	Bellair, Inc.	Minor injuries	-
27 Dec 1991	Cessna 185 N113LC	Stanley, Idaho, United States	Larry M. Clinton	No injuries	-
8 Sep 1991	Cessna 185 N1637Z	Duluth, Minnesota, United States	Jeff A. Foster	Minor injuries	-
6 Sep 1991	Cessna 185F N1074F	Afton, Minnesota, United States	Brian D. Larson	Minor injuries	-
5 Sep 1991	Cessna 185 N9974X	Talkeetna, Alaska, United States	James K. Bailey	No injuries	-
29 Aug 1991	Cessna 185-F N1296F	Cordova, Alaska, United States	-	No injuries	-
10 Aug 1991	Cessna 185F N715V	Angoon, Alaska, United States	Douglas D. Riemer	Serious injuries	-
23 Jul 1991	Cessna 185 N6166N	Clarks Point, Alaska, United States	Carl Forgey	No injuries	-
19 Jul 1991	Cessna 185 N1650Z	Jago River, Alaska, United States	-	No injuries	-
13 Jul 1991	Cessna 185A N1689Z	Wood River, Alaska, United States	Kevin R. O'hara	No injuries	-
6 Jul 1991	Cessna 185A N5081H	Valdez, Alaska, United States	-	Minor injuries	-
3 Jul 1991	Cessna 185F N222WH	Farewell, Alaska, United States	William D. Hansen	No injuries	-
25 May 1991	Cessna 185 N4649E	Sterling, Alaska, United States	Ross N. Brudenell	Serious injuries	-
12 May 1991	Cessna 185F N1745R	Sanford, Maine, United States no coordinates	George Grinnall	Minor injuries	-