Cessna 185 accident near Kaktovik, Alaska, September 9, 1983
On September 9, 1983 at about 2:30 am local time, a Cessna 185, registered N93282, was substantially damaged in an accident near Kaktovik, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 4 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 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
- September 9, 1983 · about 2:30 am local time
- Place
- Kaktovik, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 185 · all 185s on the register
- Registration
- N93282 · no longer on the register · serial 18503209
- 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
THE PLT STATED THAT THE ACFT WAS LOADED WITH 3 HUNTERS & THEIR GEAR FOR A FLT FROM CARIBOU PASS TO THE BARTER ISLAND DEW STATION ARPT. REPORTEDLY, HE HAD OPERATED IN & OUT OF THE AREA ON PREVIOUS OCCASIONS WITH SIMILAR LOADS & CONDITIONS. HE STATED THAT HE TOOK OFF DOWNHILL & INTO A SLIGHT QUARTERING HEADWIND, USING SHORT FIELD PROCEDURES & 20 DEG OF FLAPS. HE REPORTED THAT THE ACFT WAS BARELY FLYING AT THE 'CUTOFF POINT' & HE ELECTED TO USE FULL FLAPS. AT SOME POINT AFTER LIFT-OFF, HE MADE A 90 DEG TURN DOWNRIVER, BUT THE ACFT SETTLED & THE GEAR CONTACTED THE TERRAIN. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE LEFT MAIN GEAR FAILED, THE WING TIP & PROP STRUCK THE GROUND, AND THE ACFT SLID TO A STOP.
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: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 6,070 hours in all; 300 in this make and model; 390 in the last 90 days; 150 in the last 30 days; 5,275 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,218 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, February 17, 1983; 63 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,350 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-F (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Caribou AK at 8:15 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 300° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 4,000 ft; not recorded at 4,000 ft
- Temperature: 32°F (0°C), dew point 18°F (-8°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
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.