Cessna A185F accident near Kenai, Alaska, October 9, 2008
On October 9, 2008, a Cessna A185F, registered N9380N, was substantially damaged in an accident during taxi near Kenai, Alaska. It was a public-use flight (state) under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from high vegetation while taxiing after landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 9, 2008
- Place
- Kenai, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna A185F · all A185Fs on the register
- Registration
- N9380N · registry record · serial 18504344
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Public-use flight (state) · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airline transport pilot landed on a remote airstrip and was taxiing to the end of the landing area. He began to turn the airplane around, but the elevator struck an area of low brush along the edge of the strip. The elevator received structural damage and required replacement.
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
What happened, in order
- Ground collision during taxi defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Psychological › Attention/monitoring › Monitoring environment › Pilot
- cause Environmental issues › Physical environment › Object/animal/substance › (general) › Response/compensation
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 16,000 hours in all; 4,000 in this make and model; 20 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days; 15,500 as pilot in command; 500 on instruments
- Last flight review: October 1, 2008
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,729 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 22, 2008; 69 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,350 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Cont Motor IO 520 SERIES (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Alaska Department Of Public Safety
The flight
- Departed from: PASX Soldotna AK at 6:40 pm
- Destination: PASX Soldotna AK
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 39°F (4°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ANC09TA005.