Cessna A185F accident near Cordova, Alaska, September 15, 1985
On September 15, 1985 at about 7:30 pm local time, a Cessna A185F, registered N80124, was substantially damaged in an accident near Cordova, Alaska (Cordova Muni airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 3 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 November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 15, 1985 · about 7:30 pm local time · cases in 1985
- Place
- Cordova, Alaska · Cordova Muni · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna A185F · all A185Fs on the register
- Registration
- N80124 · registry record · serial 18503094
- 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 PRIOR TO LANDING, THE ACFT'S RIGHT BRAKE HAD NO PRESSURE. HE REPORTED THAT AFTER HE LANDED, THE TAIL WHEEL BEGAN TO SHIMMY & THE ACFT PULLED TO THE LEFT. HE APPLIED FULL RIGHT RUDDER, BUT WAS UNABLE TO PREVENT THE ACFT FROM GROUND LOOPING TO THE LEFT. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE RIGHT MAIN GEAR COLLAPSED.
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: 3,627 hours in all; 277 in this make and model; 336 in the last 90 days; 150 in the last 30 days; 3,514 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,395 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection; 5 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,350 lb
- Seats: 5
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-A (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Kennedy Air Service
The flight
- Departed from: Montague Island AK at 2:00 pm
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 6, 1,900 ft by 80 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 1,500 ft
- Temperature: 54°F (12°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:30 am from COR
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
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 N80124 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
- N80124 on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Cessna A185 Skywagon 1,373 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Cessna 72,677 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Continental IO-520-A 8 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Cordova Municipal · nearest airport
- Accidents and incidents in Alaska 5,932 since 1982 · 825 in the last ten years
- Alaska 9,142 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N80124 2 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/ANC85LA177.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.