Cessna 185 accident near Hinchinbrook Is, Alaska, July 19, 1987
On July 19, 1987 at about 9:20 pm local time, a Cessna 185, registered N1744R, was destroyed in an accident near Hinchinbrook Is, Alaska. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. 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
- July 19, 1987 · about 9:20 pm local time
- Place
- Hinchinbrook Is, Alaska
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 185 · all 185s on the register
- Registration
- N1744R · no longer on the register · serial 18502464
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ACCORDING TO WITNESSES THE AIRCRAFT WAS LOW FLYING JUST ABOVE THE TREE LEVEL WHEN THE AIRCRAFT STALLED AND SPUN DOWN INTO THE TREES.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea
- Flight time: 847 hours in all; 840 in this make and model; 16 in the last 90 days; 8 in the last 30 days; 760 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,333 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, June 12, 1987; 27 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,350 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-D-24 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CKU Cordova AK at 2:10 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 230° at 15 knots
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 18,000 ft
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:30 pm
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.
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.