Cessna 185F accident near King Salmon, Alaska, September 2, 2001
On September 2, 2001 at about 10:30 pm local time, a Cessna 185F, registered N177BM, was substantially damaged in an accident near King Salmon, Alaska (King Salmon airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 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
An overload failure of the main axle attaching bolts, and subsequent separation of the axle from the landing gear strut.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 2, 2001 · about 10:30 pm local time
- Place
- King Salmon, Alaska · King Salmon · 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
- N177BM · no longer on the register · serial 18504157
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The commercial certificated pilot was back-taxiing on a runway in preparation for takeoff, and then began a 180 degree turn on the runway. During the turn, the pilot said he heard a scraping sound, the airplane wobbled and shimmied, and the right brake was not functioning. The right main landing gear strut collapsed near the axle attach point, and the right main wheel and tire rolled away from the airplane. The right wingtip and the propeller struck the ground, and the right gear strut was torn loose from its upper attach point. A postexamination of the right wheel and strut by the owner revealed the axle assembly separated from the lower end of the landing gear strut. There are four hex head bolts utilized to secure the axle to the landing gear strut. Each are inserted through the axle assembly and gear leg, and have a nut threaded and then torqued onto the bolt shaft. All four of the bolts were bent. Two of the nuts were stripped off their respective bolt shafts. The remaining two bolts were broken about mid-shaft. The owner of the airplane reported that about five days before the accident, new brake assemblies were installed on the airplane. The original bolts were re-used for the installation. One of the broken bolts was submitted to the National Transportations Safety Board's Materials Laboratory for examination. According to an NTSB materials engineer, the bolt was bent about 35 degrees, it had necking deformation adjacent to the fracture, and displayed features consistent with an overstress fracture in bending.
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: single-engine land; single-engine sea
- Flight time: 12,000 hours in all; 2,500 in this make and model; 70 in the last 90 days; 3 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PAKN King Salmon AK at 5:30 pm
- Destination: Yantarni AK
- Runway 11, 8,500 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 270° at 11 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 3,600 ft; a few clouds at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 29.54 inHg
- Observation at 5:52 pm from PAKN
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 N177BM 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.