Cessna 185F accident near Joseph Village, Alaska, August 28, 1988
On August 28, 1988 at about 1:55 am local time, a Cessna 185F, registered N4838C, was substantially damaged in an accident near Joseph Village, Alaska (Joseph Village airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 4 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
- August 28, 1988 · about 1:55 am local time
- Place
- Joseph Village, Alaska · Joseph Village
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 185F · all 185Fs on the register
- Registration
- N4838C · no longer on the register · serial 18502606
- 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-IN-COMMAND STATED THE AIRPLANE STRUCK A DEPRESSION IN THE RUNWAY UPON LANDING AT JOSEPH, ALASKA. EXAMINATION OF THE LEFT MAIN GEAR SHOWED THAT A BRACKET, PART NUMBER 0713495-61 FAILED DUE TO OVERLOAD, AND ALLOWED THE LANDING GEAR TO SEPARATE FROM THE AIRPLANE.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 3,000 hours in all; 300 in this make and model; 250 in the last 90 days; 70 in the last 30 days; 2,800 as pilot in command; 100 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 24,666 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 18, 1988; 363 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: TKJ Tok AK at 8:20 pm
- Destination: Joseph Village AK
- Runway 27, 1,400 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 100 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 10,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 59°F (15°C), dew point 41°F (5°C)
- Observation at 2:00 am
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
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 N4838C 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.