Cessna 185 N8383Q

Summary

On 21 July 2003 at about 23:00 local time, a Cessna 185 registered N8383Q was involved in an accident near Big Lake, Alaska, United States. 2 people were on board. The aircraft was slightly damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

21 July 2003 at 23:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Big Lake, Alaska, United States

Coordinates

61.5350, -149.9478

Aircraft

Cessna 185

Registration

N8383Q

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Anchorage → Big Lake

Aircraft damage

Minor

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC03LA084

Injuries not recorded.

The failure of the pilot of the seaplane and the operator of the jet ski to maintain an adequate visual lookout, which resulted in a collision during the airplane's landing flare.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private certificated pilot reported that he was landing a float-equipped airplane toward the southeast on a lake near a point of land. During the landing flare, about 2 feet before touchdown, he noticed a blurred object on the right side of the airplane, moving perpendicular to his direction of landing. He then felt and heard an impact on the right float. When the airplane settled off the step, the pilot observed that a collision had occurred with a jet ski and rider that previously had been eastbound. The airplane received damage to the underside of the right float, specifically, to the right sister keelson at the step bulkhead, and along the keel area, aft of the step bulkhead. The operator of the stand-up type jet ski sustained multiple breaks of the bones of her left arm. The jet ski received damage to the upper handle portion. The operator of the jet ski said that she was heading east about 30 feet from the shore, passing a point of land, when the collision occurred. She said that at the time of the collision, the airplane had not touched the water. She estimated her speed between 20 to 35 mph. A review of the FAA's Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) and the U.S. Coast Guard's navigation rules, disclosed no right-of-way regulations pertaining to an airborne seaplane and a vessel on the water.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.