Cessna 185 accident near Kassan Bay, Alaska, June 8, 1994
On June 8, 1994 at about 10:15 pm local time, a Cessna 185, registered N4471R, was substantially damaged in an accident near Kassan Bay, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE PILOT'S INADEQUATE COMPENSATION FOR THE WIND. FACTORS WERE THE ROUGH WATER AND THE GUSTY WIND CONDITION.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 8, 1994 · about 10:15 pm local time
- Place
- Kassan Bay, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 185 · all 185s on the register
- Registration
- N4471R · registry record · serial 18502964
- 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 LANDED THE AIRPLANE PARALLEL TO THE SWELLS AND AS IT SLOWED DOWN, IT WEATHERVANED INTO THE WIND. THE AIRPLANE'S NOSE PITCHED UP AND ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, A GUST OF WIND HIT THE AIRPLANE. THE LEFT WING, THE DOWNWIND WING, STRUCK THE WATER. THE SWELLS WERE ESTIMATED TO BE 1 TO 2 FEET AND THE WIND WAS FROM THE SOUTHEAST AT 10 KNOTS WITH GUSTS TO 20 KNOTS.
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: 2,500 hours in all; 470 in this make and model; 136 in the last 90 days; 85 in the last 30 days; 2,300 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 12,569 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, May 25, 1994; 47 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,320 lb
- Seats: 5
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520D (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Taquan Air
The flight
- Departed from: KTN Ketchikan AK at 4:30 pm
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 135° at 10 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; scat at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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 N4471R 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.