Cessna 185F accident near Chip River, Alaska, September 21, 1988
On September 21, 1988 at about 5:47 pm local time, a Cessna 185F, registered N61500, was substantially damaged in an accident near Chip River, Alaska. 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
- September 21, 1988 · about 5:47 pm local time
- Place
- Chip River, Alaska
- 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
- N61500 · no longer on the register · serial 18504217
- 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 AIR TAXI PILOT WAS ATTEMPTING TO LAND ON THE SNOW COVERED TUNDRA NEAR HIS PASSENGER'S FISH CAMP. THE TUNDRA HAD NOT YET FROZEN SUFFICIENTLY TO SUPPORT THE WEIGHT OF THE AIRPLANE, AND THE MAIN LANDING GEAR QUICKLY BECAME MIRED IN THE SOFT SOIL, CAUSING THE AIRPLANE TO DECELERATE RAPIDLY AND NOSE OVER.
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: single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,500 hours in all; 200 in this make and model; 3,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,162 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 4, 1988; 52 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,350 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-D (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Cape Smythe Air Service
The flight
- Departed from: BRW Barrow AK at 11:48 am
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 700 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 32°F (0°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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 N61500 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.