Cessna A185E accident near Tok, Alaska, May 13, 1986
On May 13, 1986 at about 1:45 am local time, a Cessna A185E, registered N4761Q, was substantially damaged in an accident near Tok, Alaska (Tok Junction airport). It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was 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
- May 13, 1986 · about 1:45 am local time · cases in 1986
- Place
- Tok, Alaska · Tok Junction · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna A185E · all A185Es on the register
- Registration
- N4761Q · registry record · serial 185-1226
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT-IN-COMMAND STATED THAT UPON LANDING IN A CROSSWIND, A GUST OF WIND CAUSED THE AIRPLANE TO BECOME AIRBORNE. UPON TOUCHING DOWN AGAIN THE AIRPLANE WAS IN A CRAB AND THE PILOT LOST CONTROL AND THE AIRPLANE STRUCK THE LEFT WINGTIP, THEN THE RIGHT WINGTIP, ON THE GROUND, AND THEN NOSED OVER. THE AIRPLANE REMAINED ON THE RUNWAY'S SURFACE.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; single-engine sea
- Flight time: 500 hours in all; 254 in this make and model; 20 in the last 90 days; 450 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,904 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 4, 1985; 332 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,300 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: ORT Northway AK at 8:25 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 25, 3,000 ft by 50 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 6 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility: 50 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 5,000 ft
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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 N4761Q 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
- N4761Q 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-D 95 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Tok Junction Airport · nearest airport
- Northway Airport · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in Alaska 5,932 since 1982 · 825 in the last ten years
- Alaska 9,142 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N4761Q 1 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/ANC86LA056.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.