Cessna 185E accident near Talkeetna, Alaska, June 20, 2000
On June 20, 2000 at about 2:15 am local time, a Cessna 185E, registered N1589F, was destroyed in an accident near Talkeetna, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 4 people were killed. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's continued flight into known adverse weather conditions and subsequent in-flight break-up. Factors in the accident were weather conditions consisting of low ceilings, turbulence, and an occluded front with convective activity, and inadequate oversight of the flight by company management.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 20, 2000 · about 2:15 am local time
- Place
- Talkeetna, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 4 people were killed.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Cessna 185E · all 185Es on the register
- Registration
- N1589F · no longer on the register · serial 1850971
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot departed on a U.S. Government flight for the Department of Interior, National Parks Service, with three park rangers, in a wheel/ski equipped airplane. The airplane was operated as a VFR, on-demand air taxi flight to the Denali National Park base camp, located at 7,200 feet msl on the Kahiltna glacier. The base camp is where the three rangers were to begin mountain patrol operations on Mt. McKinley, Alaska. Variable weather conditions with low ceilings near the base camp made landing at the base camp problematic throughout the day. When the pilot departed for the base camp, he opened a VFR flight plan, and was advised that an AIRMET for mountain obscuration and turbulence were current for the area. About 45 minutes after departure, the pilot talked via radio to another airplane pilot at the Kahiltna base camp, who advised the upper portion of the glacier was closed due to low clouds. The accident pilot commented that the weather had closed the lower portion of the glacier, and he was diverting toward the west, toward another glacier drainage. A ranger on-board the accident airplane contacted his ranger station by a hand-held radio and stated the flight was returning. The accident airplane did not return to its base, and was reported overdue. The wreckage was located the following day, scattered over about 1/2 mile. Evidence indicated the airplane broke apart in-flight. The left wing, left wing lift strut, the left landing gear strut, the left door and windshield, were located on the upper portion of a steep hillside. The engine struck the ground below the left wing, separating the propeller, and then tumbled downhill. The fuselage came to rest about 1/4 mile below the left wing, and was consumed by a postcrash fire. The airplane's wing spars, and each horizontal stabilizer had all negative bending signatures. The flap handle was found extended to 20 degrees. The airplane manufacturer does not publish any negative structural load factors for a flaps down configuration. A review of meteorological data revealed an occluded front with convective activity that progressed northward toward the accident area, accompanied by heavy rain and hail. The front was positioned near the accident area when the airplane was diverting away from the mountain. The pilot was the chief pilot for the operator. The director of operations for the company has the responsibility of operational control for the operator.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 8,490 hours in all; 7,225 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,130 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, May 28, 2000; 72 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,300 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-D24N (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: PATK AK at 8:11 pm
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 196° at 13 knots, gusting 21
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 4,900 ft; scat at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 131°F (55°C), dew point 111°F (44°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:53 pm from PAT, 52 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N1589F the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.