Cessna A185F accident near Houma, Louisiana, October 3, 2001
On October 3, 2001 at about 2:00 pm local time, a Cessna A185F, registered N727, was substantially damaged in an accident near Houma, Louisiana (Houma-Terrebonne airport). It was a positioning flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 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 high flare, which resulted in a hard landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 3, 2001 · about 2:00 pm local time
- Place
- Houma, Louisiana · Houma-Terrebonne · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna A185F · all A185Fs on the register
- Registration
- N727 · registry record · serial 18504371
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Positioning flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was landing the amphibian airplane on a hard surface runway when he "flared too high and made a hard landing." One of the airplane's fuselage bulkheads sustained structural damage.
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: single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,700 hours in all; 20 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days; 2,600 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,778 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 18, 2001; 145 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,350 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-550-D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LFT Lafayette LA at 1:00 pm
- Destination: HUM Houma LA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 18, 6,508 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 090° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.
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.