Cessna 185F accident near Hunter Creek, Alaska, May 6, 1988
On May 6, 1988 at about 6:00 pm local time, a Cessna 185F, registered N22901, was substantially damaged in an accident near Hunter Creek, Alaska (Mining Camp Airstrip airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person had minor injuries; 1 other was unhurt. 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
- May 6, 1988 · about 6:00 pm local time
- Place
- Hunter Creek, Alaska · Mining Camp Airstrip
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries; 1 other was unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 185F · all 185Fs on the register
- Registration
- N22901 · no longer on the register · serial 18503077
- 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
AFTER LANDING AT A MINING CAMP AIRSTRIP, THE RIGHT LANDING GEAR FAILED CAUSING THE AIRCRAFT TO GROUND LOOP. EXAMINATION OF THE BROKEN GEAR PART REVEALED THE ORIGINAL FRACTURE TO BE A FATIGUE FRACTURE. THE INITIAL CRACK IN THE GEAR LEG RAN PARALLEL TO THE GEAR BOLT HOLE. THE ACFT WAS INSPECTED 80 HRS BEFORE THE FAILURE.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 17,400 hours in all; 4,200 in this make and model; 155 in the last 90 days; 90 in the last 30 days; 17,245 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,800 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 3, 1987; 80 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,350 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Fairbanks AK at 12:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 23, 1,000 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 50 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 5,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 50°F (10°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 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.
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.