Cessna 185 N8360Q

Summary

On 6 July 2005 at about 21:00 local time, a Cessna 185 registered N8360Q, operated by Bureau of Land Management, was involved in an accident near Delta Junction, 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.

Date

6 July 2005 at 21:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Delta Junction, Alaska, United States

Nearest airport

Last Chance Airstrip

Coordinates

64.3914, -144.2744

Aircraft

Cessna 185

Registration

N8360Q

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Bureau of Land Management

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Delta Junction → Delta Junction

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC05TA106

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's misjudged distance/altitude during the landing touchdown and subsequent undershoot, and his failure to maintain directional control of the airplane during the landing roll, which resulted in an on-ground encounter with high vegetation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airline transport certificated pilot was landing at a remote mining airstrip during a public use flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91. The airstrip slopes uphill, and is about 1,000 feet long, and about 16 feet wide. The pilot indicated that during the landing roll, the right main landing gear tire dropped into a rut, pulling the airplane to the right, into several willow trees. During an inspection of the airplane at a Department of Interior repair facility, inspectors discovered damage to an inboard stabilizer rib, which required a major repair. The accident airstrip was examined by an air safety investigator with the Department of the Interior, Aviation Management Directorate, Aviation Safety Division. The investigator reported that the airplane's tailwheel contacted the ground about 53 feet before the beginning of the airstrip. The main landing gear tires contacted the airstrip surface about 75 feet after the initial tailwheel strike. The propeller struck the ground about 52 feet beyond the approach end of the airstrip, and about 30 feet from the initial contact with the main wheels. Following the propeller strikes, the airplane veered to the right and ran through several 2 to 4 foot tall willow trees.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.