Cessna 185 accident near Wainwright, Alaska, August 2, 1996
On August 2, 1996 at about 9:49 pm local time, a Cessna 185, registered N20752, was substantially damaged in an accident near Wainwright, Alaska. 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).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's excessive application of the brakes during the landing roll.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 2, 1996 · about 9:49 pm local time · cases in 1996
- Place
- Wainwright, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 185 · all 185s on the register
- Registration
- N20752 · registry record · serial 18503041
- 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 she was attempting to land at an off airport beach site with a load of cargo. The airplane bounced on the initial touchdown. On the following touchdown, the pilot said she became concerned about the proximity of the water at the end of the landing area and applied the brakes. The airplane decelerated, and then nosed over.
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
- 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: 3,039 hours in all; 21 in this make and model; 2,144 as pilot in command; 765 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,040 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, July 11, 1996; 81 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,350 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BRW Barrow AK at 4:20 pm
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; scat
- Temperature: 39°F (4°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
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 N20752 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N20752 on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Cessna 185 Skywagon 228 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Cessna 72,685 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Continental IO-520-D 95 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Wiley Post-Will Rogers Memorial · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in Alaska 5,932 since 1982 · 826 in the last ten years
- Alaska 9,144 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N20752 7 records · the number may have belonged to another aircraft at the time
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/ANC96LA114.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.