Cessna 185 accident near Petersburg, Alaska, September 14, 1995
On September 14, 1995 at about 10:00 pm local time, a Cessna 185, registered N90033, was destroyed in an accident near Petersburg, Alaska. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain sufficient airspeed above the airplane's stall speed. The high terrain and low ceiling (clouds) were related factors.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 14, 1995 · about 10:00 pm local time
- Place
- Petersburg, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Cessna 185 · all 185s on the register
- Registration
- N90033 · no longer on the register · serial 185-1502
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was transporting himself and his hunting partner with their gear to a hunting site that was located nearby. The airplane was reported overdue, and the airplane wreckage was located in a pass, on a glacier, at the 3,450 foot level. The airplane impacted terrain in a near vertical attitude. The route of flight was from the southeast to the northwest. The wreckage was aligned along a 315 degree magnetic heading. Weather in the area, as reported by the Coast Guard Search and Rescue personnel, was ceiling at 4,000 feet with fog moving down from the glacier. No mechanical anomalies were found with the airplane or 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; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 2,448 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,780 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 31, 1995; 17 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,320 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PSG AK at 4:00 pm
- Destination: Farragut Lake AK
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 4,000 ft; not recorded
- 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.
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.