Cessna 206 accident near Tanana, Alaska, October 16, 1985
On October 16, 1985 at about 8:45 pm local time, a Cessna 206, registered N35851, was substantially damaged in an accident near Tanana, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 2 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
- October 16, 1985 · about 8:45 pm local time
- Place
- Tanana, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 206 · all 206s on the register
- Registration
- N35851 · registry record · serial U20602757
- 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
WHILE EN ROUTE, THE ENG LOST POWER, SO THE PLT MADE AN EMERGENCY LANDING ON A GRAVEL BAR. DURING THE LANDING, THE ACFT NOSED OVER & CAME TO REST IN WATER. AN EXAM REVEALED THAT THE FUEL SUMPS & LINES WERE FROZEN & THERE WAS ICE IN THE FUEL PUMP.
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: single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine
- Flight time: 4,500 hours in all; 1,000 in this make and model; 125 in the last 90 days; 75 in the last 30 days; 4,500 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,204 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, September 13, 1985; 56 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,500 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Ituslia AK at 3:00 pm
- Destination: FAI Faibanks AK
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 20 knots
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Temperature: 19°F (-7°C), dew point 10°F (-12°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
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 N35851 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.