Cessna 185 accident near Healy, Alaska, September 12, 2023
On September 12, 2023 at about 10:15 pm local time, a 1961 Cessna 185, registered N34VV, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (landing roll) near Healy, Alaska. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s selection of an unsuitable landing site, resulting in a nose over.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 12, 2023 · about 10:15 pm local time · cases in 2023
- Place
- Healy, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 185, built 1961 · all 185s on the register
- Registration
- N34VV · registry record · serial 185-0036
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot of a tailwheel-equipped airplane reported that, during landing rollout at an overgrown remote airstrip, the main landing gear wheels “sunk into soft vegetation.” The airplane subsequently nosed over and sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, vertical stabilizer, and wings. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
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
- Nose over/nose down during landing (landing roll) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
- Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Identification/recognition › Pilot
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Runway/land/takeoff/taxi surface › Soft surface › Effect on operation
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › (general) › Capability exceeded
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,869 hours in all; 290 in this make and model; 150 in the last 90 days; 80 in the last 30 days; 1,720 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: August 4, 2023
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,196.6 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, September 5, 2023
- Maximum gross weight: 3,525 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Cont Motor IO-550 (piston); 677 hours total
- Operator: Fly Denali INC
The flight
- Departed from: PAHV Healy AK at 9:57 pm
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 6,000 ft; a few clouds at 4,700 ft
- Temperature: 54°F (12°C), dew point 34°F (1°C)
- Altimeter: 29.62 inHg
- Observation at 2:56 pm from PAIN, 30 miles away
Weather report (METAR): PAIN 122256Z AUTO VRB06KT 10SM FEW047 OVC060 12/01 A2962 RMK AO2 SLP046 T01170011
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Photographs from the investigation 2 pictures from the NTSB's docket, as the NTSB released them
The NTSB's photographs with the NTSB's captions, at screen size. Open a picture to see it full size or to report one that should not be shown.
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
2 documents, released by the NTSB on April 4, 2024. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 9 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Photos | PDF, 3 pages · our copy | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
Other NTSB records under N34VV the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N34VV on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Cessna 185 Skywagon 228 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Cessna 72,677 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Cont Motor IO-550 3,077 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Healy River Airport · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in Alaska 5,932 since 1982 · 825 in the last ten years
- Alaska 9,142 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N34VV 1 records · the number may have belonged to another aircraft at the time
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/ANC23LA075.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.