Cessna 185 N4855C
27 March 1997 · Chugiak, Alaska, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 27 March 1997 at about 18:00 local time, a Cessna 185 registered N4855C was involved in an accident near Chugiak, Alaska, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 18:00
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Chugiak, Alaska, United States
- Nearest airport
- Birchwood (BCV)
- Coordinates
- 61.1099, -149.9000
- Aircraft
- Cessna 185
- Registration
- N4855C
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- ANC97LA040
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Probable cause
The pilot's improper installation of the main landing gear wheel penetration skis, which allowed the skis to rotate to a vertical position in flight and subsequently separate during landing.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The pilot, a licensed aviation mechanic, had just installed wheel penetration skis on the main landing gear of his personal airplane. During a subsequent test flight, the skis immediately rotated nose up to a near vertical position. The pilot continued around the traffic pattern, and landed in snow just prior to the start of the runway. The skis failed to come out of the near vertical position, and during the landing roll, one ski broke off, causing the gear leg to penetrate the snow, which allowed the right wing and elevator to strike the snow. Postaccident examination of the skis disclosed the ski check cables at the heel of the skis were excessively long.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Cessna 185 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 Apr 1997 | Cessna 185D | Wetumpka, Alabama, United States | Richard Meyer | No injuries | - |
| 31 Oct 1997 | Cessna 185F | Barrow, Alaska, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 23 Oct 1997 | Cessna 185A | Damascus, Oregon, United States | Roger C. Snyder | Fatal | 2 |
| 5 Oct 1997 | Cessna 185F | Oakland, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 25 Jul 1997 | Cessna 185 | Norway, Maine, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 9 Apr 1997 | Cessna 185 | Tatitlek, Alaska, United States | - | Fatal | 2 |
All 1,004 records for this type
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 Oct 1997 | Piper PA-32-300 | Juneau, Alaska, United States | - | Fatal | 2 |
| 20 Oct 1997 | Cessna 208B | Kasigluk, Alaska, United States | Peninsula Airways Inc. | No injuries | - |
| 3 Oct 1997 | Piper PA-22-160 | Sterling, Alaska, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 12 Oct 1997 | Cessna 182B | Palmer, Alaska, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 15 Oct 1997 | Bell 206-B2 | Sutton, Alaska, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 21 Oct 1997 | Piper PA-20 | Naknek, Alaska, United States | - | No injuries | - |