Cessna 185 accident near Ketchikan, Alaska, September 18, 1993
On September 18, 1993, a Cessna 185, registered N84627, was substantially damaged in an accident near Ketchikan, Alaska (Ketchikan Spb airport). 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 PILOT'S IMPROPER PLANNING/DECISION. THE ROUGH WATER IN THE TAKEOFF AREA WAS A FACTOR.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 18, 1993
- Place
- Ketchikan, Alaska · Ketchikan Spb · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 185 · all 185s on the register
- Registration
- N84627 · no longer on the register · serial 18503150
- 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 THE TAKEOFF RUN, AND JUST BEFORE REACHING TAKEOFF AIRSPEED, THE FLOATPLANE HIT A LARGE SWELL AND WAS LAUNCHED INTO THE AIR. WHEN THE PLANE TOUCHED BACK DOWN ON THE WATER, IT WAS IMMEDIATELY HIT WITH ANOTHER LARGE SWELL. THE PILOT REDUCED POWER AND TAXIED BACK TO THE DOCK. THE AIRPLANE WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED DURING THE COLLISION WITH THE WATER. THE PILOT SAID HE COULD NOT AVOID HITTING THE LARGE SWELLS WHICH WERE CAUSED BY A NEARBY PASSING BOAT.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,150 hours in all; 1,000 in this make and model; 250 in the last 90 days; 130 in the last 30 days; 4,130 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 11,275 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection
- Maximum gross weight: 3,310 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-D (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Ketchikan Air Service, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: 5KE at 7:47 pm
- Destination: KTB Thorne Bay AK
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 120° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 65 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:47 pm from KTN, 1 miles away
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.
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.