Cessna A185F accident near Chefornak, Alaska, November 8, 1993
On November 8, 1993 at about 6:00 pm local time, a Cessna A185F, registered N185FK, was substantially damaged in an accident near Chefornak, Alaska (Chefornak airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE FAILURE OF THE PILOT-IN-COMMAND TO ADEQUATELY COMPENSATE FOR THE GUSTY CROSS WIND CONDITION. A FACTOR IN THE ACCIDENT WAS THE WIND GUST.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 8, 1993 · about 6:00 pm local time
- Place
- Chefornak, Alaska · Chefornak · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna A185F · all A185Fs on the register
- Registration
- N185FK · registry record · serial 18502513
- 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 REPORTED THAT WHILE PERFORMING A TAKEOFF FROM RUNWAY 16 WITH AN EASTERLY WIND AT 25 KNOTS GUSTING TO 35 KNOTS, THE AIRPLANE SUDDENLY VEERED ABOUT 45 DEGREES TO THE LEFT. THE PLANE DID NOT RESPOND TO CORRECTIVE INPUTS AND THE RIGHT WING STRUCK THE RUNWAY.
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, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 15,000 hours in all; 3,000 in this make and model; 260 in the last 90 days; 90 in the last 30 days; 14,000 as pilot in command; 250 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,808 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 16, 1993; 44 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,350 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520D (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Hageland Aviation Services
The flight
- Destination: Toksook Bay AK
- Runway 16, 2,600 ft by 40 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 100° at 25 knots, gusting 35
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 1,200 ft; not recorded at 1,200 ft
- Temperature: 36°F (2°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.
Other NTSB records under N185FK the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ANC94LA016.