Cessna C-185E accident near Bethel, Alaska, October 10, 1983
On October 10, 1983 at about 1:30 pm local time, a Cessna C-185E, registered N64399, was substantially damaged in an accident near Bethel, Alaska (Bethel airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person had minor injuries; 1 other was unhurt. 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
- October 10, 1983 · about 1:30 pm local time
- Place
- Bethel, Alaska · Bethel · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries; 1 other was unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna C-185E
- Registration
- N64399 · no longer on the register · serial 185-1262
- 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 PASSENGER STATED THAT THE PLT WAS ATTEMPTING TO WIPE CONDENSATION FROM THE WINDSHIELD WHEN THE ACFT RAN INTO DRY LAND.
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; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 14,200 hours in all; 4,025 in this make and model; 300 in the last 90 days; 13,100 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 17, 1982
- Maximum gross weight: 3,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Destination: Z13 Akiachak AK
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 170° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 4,500 ft; scat at 700 ft
- Temperature: 37°F (3°C), dew point 34°F (1°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:52 am from BET, 1 miles away
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 N64399 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.