Cessna 180A accident near Glennallen, Alaska, September 29, 1985
On September 29, 1985 at about 11:10 pm local time, a Cessna 180A, registered N5353D, was substantially damaged in an accident near Glennallen, Alaska (Gulkana airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 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 October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 29, 1985 · about 11:10 pm local time
- Place
- Glennallen, Alaska · Gulkana · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 180A · all 180As on the register
- Registration
- N5353D · registry record · serial 50242
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT STATED THE AIRCRAFT LEFT WING WAS RAISED BY A GUST OF WIND. THE AIRCRAFT ACCELERATED RAPIDLY IN A SI DEWAYS ATTITUDE TO THE RIGHT. THE WIND GUST ENCOUNTERED AND THE FACT THE LANDING ROLL WAS ALMOST COMPLETED CA USED A SITUATION THAT WAS BEYOND THE CAPABILITY OF THE AIRCRAFT.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 90,000 hours in all; 5,000 in this make and model; 450 in the last 90 days; 280 in the last 30 days; 30,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,703 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 23, 1985; 62 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,650 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470K (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Sleet Creek AK at 5:40 pm
- Flight plan: not recorded
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 160° at 22 knots, gusting 38
- Visibility: 160 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 8,000 ft; scat at 6,000 ft
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 36°F (2°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
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.
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.