Cessna A185F accident near Hanning Bay, Alaska, September 25, 1986
On September 25, 1986 at about 3:45 pm local time, a Cessna A185F, registered N4611E, was substantially damaged in an accident near Hanning Bay, Alaska (Beach Landing Strip airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 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 October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 25, 1986 · about 3:45 pm local time
- Place
- Hanning Bay, Alaska · Beach Landing Strip
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna A185F · all A185Fs on the register
- Registration
- N4611E · registry record · serial 18503813
- 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 REPORTED THAT DURING A LANDING, THE AIRPLANE ENCOUNTERED A STRONG, GUSTY CROSSWIND JUST AFTER TOUCHDOWN, THEN NOSED OVER. THE WIND WAS REPORTED TO BE FROM THE NORTHWEST AT 5 KTS WITH GUSTS AND LIGHT TURBULENCE.
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: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,000 in this make and model; 267 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,004 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, February 1, 1986; 47 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,350 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CDV Cordova AK at 9:56 am
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 300° at 5 knots, gusting 45
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°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 N4611E 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.