Cessna 185F accident near Kahiltna Glac, Alaska, May 29, 1989
On May 29, 1989 at about 11:30 pm local time, a Cessna 185F, registered N1047F, was substantially damaged in an accident near Kahiltna Glac, 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 instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE PILOT'S DECISION TO COMMIT HIMSELF TO A LANDING BEFORE COMPLETING AN EVALUATION OF THE WEATHER IN THE VICINITY OF THE LANDING SITE. CONTRIBUTING TO THE SEVERITY OF THE ACCIDENT WAS THE SNOWBANK OFF THE SIDE OF THE RUNWAY WITH WHICH THE AIRCRAFT COLLIDED.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 29, 1989 · about 11:30 pm local time
- Place
- Kahiltna Glac, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 185F · all 185Fs on the register
- Registration
- N1047F · registry record · serial 18502704
- 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
DURING A VFR FINAL APPROACH TO A GLACIER THE PILOT ENCOUNTERED A LOW FOG BANK. THE PILOT STATED, 'ON SHORT FINAL WITH FULL FLAPS AND A LOADED AIRCRAFT LANDING AT THIS LOCATION, A GO AROUND IS IMPOSSIBLE, I WAS COMMITTED TO LAND. UPON DESCENDING FURTHER I FOUND MYSELF IN A GROUND FOG AND LOST GROUND CONTACT....THE LANDING WAS HARD AND ON A STEEPER PART OF THE GLACIER IN DEEP SNOW AND TO THE LEFT OF THE USUAL TOUCHDOWN POINT.' ON LANDING THE GEAR BOXES BROKE, THE RIGHT SKI CAME OFF AND COLLIDED WITH THE RIGHT HORIZONTAL STABILIZER, AND THE PROPELLER CAME OFF THE ENGINE.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,131 hours in all; 900 in this make and model; 119 in the last 90 days; 88 in the last 30 days; 3,975 as pilot in command; 85 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,484 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, May 17, 1989; 26 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,350 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-D (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Doug Geeting Aviation
The flight
- Departed from: TKA Talkeetnna AK at 6:00 pm
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 360° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 2 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 36°F (2°C), dew point 34°F (1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
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 N1047F 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.