Cessna A185F accident near Ashland, Maine, March 24, 2011
On March 24, 2011 at about 8:23 pm local time, a Cessna A185F, registered N724MT, was substantially damaged in an accident during enroute (cruise) near Ashland, Maine. It was a public-use flight (state) under public-use (government) rules. 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
An inadvertent encounter with localized instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in spatial disorientation and a loss of control.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 24, 2011 · about 8:23 pm local time
- Place
- Ashland, Maine · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna A185F · all A185Fs on the register
- Registration
- N724MT · registry record · serial 18504283
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Public-use flight (state) · public-use (government) rules
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was employed as a state game warden, and, on the day of the accident, he was on patrol in the ski-equipped airplane when he received a radio call from another game warden whose snowmobile was stuck on a nearby frozen lake. After landing on the lake and assisting another game warden, the pilot departed on the accident flight, presumably to return to his home base. The other game warden reported that, immediately after the airplane departed, the visibility was reduced to less than 1/2-mile due to snow. Postaccident analysis of position information recovered from a portable global positioning system (GPS) receiver showed that the airplane flew for about 10 minutes after takeoff at a relatively constant GPS altitude of about 1,500 feet mean sea level, or about 200 to 500 feet above ground level (agl). Shortly before the accident, the airplane turned left, away from its previously established course, toward a frozen lake along the route. During the final moments of the flight, the airplane entered a right descending turn from about 300 feet agl. During this time, the airplane was in an estimated 40-degree right bank, and its descent rate increased to in excess of 3,000 feet per minute. Examination of the accident site revealed ground scars and airplane damage consistent with the established descent profile continuing to impact. Examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures, although the definitive operational status of the vacuum-driven instruments could not be determined. Analysis of weather information and witness statements were consistent in depicting conditions likely to have produced restricted visibility and possible whiteout conditions in a snow squall over the area at the time of the accident. These restricted visibility conditions would have been conducive to the development of spatial disorientation, and the airplane’s turning ground track and rapid descent were consistent with the pilot losing control of the airplane due to spatial disorientation.
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
What happened, in order
- VFR encounter with IMC during enroute (cruise) defining event
- Loss of control in flight during enroute (cruise)
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during uncontrolled descent
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Psychological › Perception/orientation/illusio › Visual illusion/disorientation › Pilot
- Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Ceiling/visibility/precip › Snow › Effect on operation
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,548 hours in all; 3,165 in this make and model; 19 in the last 90 days; 19 in the last 30 days; 3,548 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,181 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 21, 2011; 23 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,350 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental Motors IO-520 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Department Of Inland Fisheries And Wildlife
The flight
- Departed from: NONE Ashland ME at 8:13 pm
- Destination: NONE Eagle Lake ME
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 3 knots
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 27°F (-3°C), dew point 25°F (-4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.67 inHg
- Observation at 8:25 pm from ME04, 16 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight 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.
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.