Cessna 185F accident near Anchorage, Alaska, May 19, 2000
On May 19, 2000 at about 6:45 pm local time, a Cessna 185F, registered N1789, was substantially damaged in an accident near Anchorage, Alaska (Goose Bay airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's improper remedial action and his failure to maintain directional control of the airplane during landing. A factor in the accident was the pilot's excessive use of the airplane brakes.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 19, 2000 · about 6:45 pm local time
- Place
- Anchorage, Alaska · Goose Bay · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 185F · all 185Fs on the register
- Registration
- N1789 · registry record · serial 18502342
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was conducting local area recurrent training in a tailwheel-equipped airplane with a second pilot. He conducted about 10 takeoff and landings on a gravel surface airstrip that is 3,000 feet long, and 75 feet wide. On the next landing, the pilot landed about 12 to 14 feet to the right of the unmarked center of the runway. When the pilot attempted to return to the center of the runway, he momentarily over-controlled the airplane, and the airplane veered to the right, off the right side of the runway. The pilot inadvertently applied excessive brake, locking the brakes, and the airplane nosed over. The airplane received damage to the propeller, engine mount, left wing lift strut, the vertical stabilizer, and the rudder. The pilot did not indicate having any recent flight experience in the previous 90 days.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 848 hours in all; 32 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,482 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 9, 1999; 46 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520D-26 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PANC AK at 12:05 pm
- Destination: Z40
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 25, 3,000 ft by 75 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 086° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 2,800 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 46°F (8°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:53 pm from PAN, 9 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.
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.