Cessna A185F accident near New Orleans, Louisiana, June 12, 2000
On June 12, 2000 at about 11:26 pm local time, a Cessna A185F, registered N61441, was substantially damaged in an accident near New Orleans, Louisiana (New Orleans International airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 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's failure to maintain directional control during landing roll, which resulted in a ground loop.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 12, 2000 · about 11:26 pm local time
- Place
- New Orleans, Louisiana · New Orleans International
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna A185F · all A185Fs on the register
- Registration
- N61441 · registry record · serial 18504191
- 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
During the landing roll, the pilot attempted to exit the runway onto a taxiway at a high rate of speed. Subsequently, the tail-wheel equipped airplane ground looped, and the left main landing gear collapsed.
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, flight instructor
- 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: 3,580 hours in all; 600 in this make and model; 230 in the last 90 days; 80 in the last 30 days; 3,250 as pilot in command; 975 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 12,222 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, May 18, 2000; 41 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,350 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CWF Lake Charles LA at 10:00 pm
- Destination: MSY
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 10, 10,104 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 130° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 7,500 ft; scat at 5,500 ft
- Temperature: 86°F (30°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:53 pm from MSY
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.