Cessna A185 accident near Karluk, Alaska, October 21, 1987
On October 21, 1987 at about 9:00 pm local time, a Cessna A185, registered N61376, was substantially damaged in an accident near Karluk, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 3 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
- October 21, 1987 · about 9:00 pm local time
- Place
- Karluk, Alaska
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna A185 · all A185s on the register
- Registration
- N61376 · no longer on the register · serial 18504164
- 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 ARRIVED LATE AND THE TIDE HAD COME IN AT THE BEACH IN KANATAK BAY. BY THE TIME HE COMMENCED HIS TAKEOFF ATTEMPT, THE USABLE AREA HAD DIMINISHED CONSIDERABLY. THE RIGHT MAIN GEAR CAUGHT IN THE SURF AND THE AIRPLANE INVERTED IN THE WATER.
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; single-engine land; single-engine sea
- Flight time: 12,000 hours in all; 3,000 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,740 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, October 14, 1987; 40 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: DLG Dillingham AK at 2:00 pm
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 090° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 8 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 2,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
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 N61376 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.