Cessna 185 incident near Anchorage, Alaska, April 23, 1983
On April 23, 1983 at about 5:00 pm local time, a Cessna 185, registered N9824X, suffered minor damage in an incident near Anchorage, Alaska. 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
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this incident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 23, 1983 · about 5:00 pm local time
- Place
- Anchorage, Alaska · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 185 · all 185s on the register
- Registration
- N9824X · no longer on the register · serial 1850024
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
LOSS OF POWER CAUSED BY RAGS STUFFED INTO THE ENGINE AIR INDUCTION INTAKE DUCT FORCED THE PILOT TO MAKE AN EMERGENCY LANDING ON A FROZEN LAKE.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine
- Flight time: 10,320 hours in all; 1,008 in this make and model; 10 in the last 90 days; 10,200 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,425 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 18, 1982; 28 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,200 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-470-F (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: ANC Anchorage AK
- Destination: 9AK4 Tyonek AK
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 15 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 10,000 ft
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°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 N9824X 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.