Cessna 185 incident near Anchorage, Alaska, June 24, 1997
On June 24, 1997 at about 5:00 pm local time, a Cessna 185, registered N4952E, suffered minor damage in an incident near Anchorage, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 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-in-command's failure to retract the landing gear which led to an inadvertent water landing with the amphibian float wheels extended. Associated factors are the pilot's habit interference and the FAA inspector's inadequate monitoring of the flight.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 24, 1997 · about 5:00 pm local time
- Place
- Anchorage, Alaska · map
- Type
- Incident
- 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
- N4952E · registry record · serial 18503918
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airline transport pilot was taking a check ride with an FAA inspector for a reinstatement of his flight instructor certificate. The check ride was being conducted in the pilot's amphibian float equipped airplane. Under the direction of the FAA inspector, the pilot was demonstrating the technique for a glassy water landing. Shortly after touchdown, the airplane slowly nosed over. Both the pilot and the inspector were uninjured, and were able to quickly evacuate the airplane. The pilot related he was given different departure instructions from the air traffic control tower when he took off from a hard surface runway at the beginning of the flight, and he elected to leave his wheels extended longer than normal because of the route of flight. He said he forgot to retract them prior to the water landing. The FAA inspector indicated he also was unaware of the extended wheels. The landing gear indicator light in the airplane was functional at the time of the incident.
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; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 11,900 hours in all; 4,500 in this make and model; 80 in the last 90 days; 50 in the last 30 days; 6,878 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,596 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 15, 1996; 31 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: ANC at 11:45 am
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 310° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 20,000 ft; scat at 5,000 ft
- Temperature: 57°F (14°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:53 am from ANC, 15 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.