Cessna A185F accident near Belle Chase, Louisiana, January 22, 1996
On January 22, 1996 at about 6:15 pm local time, a Cessna A185F, registered N6034N, was substantially damaged in an accident near Belle Chase, Louisiana (Southern Seaplane airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 3 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
The pilot's inadequate compensation for the wind conditions, which resulted in a loss of directional control and subsequent encounter with a ditch. The crosswind was a related factor.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 22, 1996 · about 6:15 pm local time
- Place
- Belle Chase, Louisiana · Southern Seaplane · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna A185F · all A185Fs on the register
- Registration
- N6034N · registry record · serial 18504293
- 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 initiated a takeoff on runway 21 with winds from 100 degrees at 10 knots. During the takeoff roll, he lost directional control of the tailwheel equipped airplane. Subsequently, it came to rest in a drainage canal adjacent to the runway.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,500 hours in all; 700 in this make and model; 2,800 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,461 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, December 27, 1995; 14 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,350 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 65LA at 6:14 pm
- Destination: LFT Lafayette LA
- Runway 21, 3,200 ft by 40 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 100° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 3,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:55 pm from NBG, 10 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
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 FTW96LA103.