Cessna 185 accident near Bethel, Alaska, May 2, 1986
On May 2, 1986 at about 3:30 am local time, a Cessna 185, registered N9706H, was substantially damaged in an accident near Bethel, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 6 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
- May 2, 1986 · about 3:30 am local time
- Place
- Bethel, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 6 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 185 · all 185s on the register
- Registration
- N9706H · no longer on the register · serial 18503463
- 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 PILOT STATED THAT HE WAS TAXIING FOR TAKEOFF ON THE FROZEN RIVER WHEN THE LEFT MAIN GEAR BROKE THROUGH THE ICE. THE AIRCRAFT'S LEFT WING AND LEFT GEAR WERE DAMAGED.
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: single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,000 hours in all; 700 in this make and model; 75 in the last 90 days; 40 in the last 30 days; 2,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: None (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,732 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, September 1, 1985; 9 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,320 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Bethel AK
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 120° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 43°F (6°C), dew point 28°F (-2°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 5 |
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 N9706H 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.