Cessna 185 accident near Baudette, Minnesota, March 17, 1995
On March 17, 1995 at about 2:45 pm local time, a Cessna 185, registered N714MX, was substantially damaged in an accident near Baudette, Minnesota. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
an encountered with a hidden obstruction during taxi. A factor was the ski assembly not having been installed.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 17, 1995 · about 2:45 pm local time
- Place
- Baudette, Minnesota · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 185 · all 185s on the register
- Registration
- N714MX · registry record · serial 18504404
- 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 HE HAD OVERFLOWN THE FROZEN LAKE TO DETERMINE THE CONDITION OF THE ICE AND TO LOOK FOR ANY CRACKS IN THE ICE PRIOR TO LANDING. NO CRACKS WERE SEEN AND THE AIRPLANE LANDED WITHOUT INCIDENT. WHILE TAXIING FOR TAKEOFF, THE AIRPLANE'S LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR DROPPED INTO A CRACK ON THE ICE AND THE LANDING GEAR SEPARATED. THE AIRPLANE'S SKIS WERE NOT INSTALLED.
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: 2,175 hours in all; 350 in this make and model; 65 in the last 90 days; 36 in the last 30 days; 2,065 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,501 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 1, 1994; 60 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,350 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 225° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 6,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 37°F (3°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
Other NTSB records under N714MX 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 docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site 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 CHI95LA105.