Cessna 185F accident near Barrow, Alaska, August 12, 2000
On August 12, 2000 at about 4:25 am local time, a Cessna 185F, registered N20752, was substantially damaged in an accident near Barrow, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's selection of unsuitable terrain for landing. A factor in the accident was a hidden obstruction, and soft terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 12, 2000 · about 4:25 am local time
- Place
- Barrow, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 185F · all 185Fs on the register
- Registration
- N20752 · registry record · serial 18503041
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
At the conclusion of an on-demand air taxi flight, the airline transport certificated pilot was landing a tailwheel-equipped airplane. The landing area was a large area of tundra with eight to ten inch tall grass, next to a fishing camp. The day before the flight, the entire north coast of Alaska had received heavy rain. The pilot said he landed into the wind, toward the north. During the landing roll, as the pilot was applying the brakes, the airplane bounced over an unseen bump and became airborne about 12 inches. When the airplane touched down again, the main wheels encountered soft mud. The airplane nosed over and received damage to the propeller, wing lift struts, the vertical stabilizer, and the rudder.
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, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 14,200 hours in all; 320 in this make and model; 103 in the last 90 days; 68 in the last 30 days; 13,700 as pilot in command; 1,400 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,889 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, July 7, 2000; 1 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,350 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PABR at 10:55 pm
- Destination: PASC Deadhorse AK
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 350° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,500 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 37°F (3°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
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 N20752 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.