Cessna 185-F accident near Caribou Lake, Alaska, August 18, 1986
On August 18, 1986 at about 4:00 am local time, a Cessna 185-F, registered N3367R, was substantially damaged in an accident near Caribou Lake, 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 November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 18, 1986 · about 4:00 am local time · cases in 1986
- Place
- Caribou Lake, Alaska
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 185-F · all 185-Fs on the register
- Registration
- N3367R · registry record · serial 18502875
- 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 AIRCRAFT SETTLED BACK ON THE WATER AND THE PILOT LOST CONTROL OF THE AIRCRAFT CAUSING IT TO NOSE OVER ON ITS BACK.
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
- Flight time: 25,915 hours in all; 940 in this make and model; 25 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days; 25,699 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,496 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, October 7, 1985; 67 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,350 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO 520-D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: HOM Homer AK at 10:50 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 30°F (-1°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.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N3367R on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Cessna 185 Skywagon 228 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Cessna 72,685 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Continental IO 520-D 95 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Homer Airport · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in Alaska 5,932 since 1982 · 826 in the last ten years
- Alaska 9,144 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/ANC86LA128.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.