Cessna 185 accident near Sleetmute, Alaska, July 12, 1983
On July 12, 1983 at about 10:00 pm local time, a Cessna 185, registered N70059, was substantially damaged in an accident near Sleetmute, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 2 people had minor injuries. 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 accident. 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
- July 12, 1983 · about 10:00 pm local time
- Place
- Sleetmute, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 185 · all 185s on the register
- Registration
- N70059 · registry record · serial 18501932
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING AN UPSTREAM TAKEOFF TOWARD A FISH WEIR, THE ACFT DID NOT ATTAIN ENOUGH ALTITUDE TO CLEAR THE FISH WEIR AND COLLIDED WITH THE TOP OF THE WEIR. THE ACFT CONTACTED THE WATER IN A NOSE LOW ATTITUDE AND THE ACFT NOSED OVER ONTO ITS BACK.
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 multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,484 hours in all; 125 in this make and model; 365 in the last 90 days; 180 in the last 30 days; 2,364 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,798 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 31, 1983; 82 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,320 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Holitna River AK
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 50 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 5,500 ft
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 30°F (-1°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.
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.