Cessna 185 accident near Incline Village, Nevada, March 7, 2000
On March 7, 2000 at about 6:00 pm local time, a Cessna 185, registered N4021Y, was substantially damaged in an accident near Incline Village, Nevada. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadvertent landing on water with the wheels of the amphibious float plane extended.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 7, 2000 · about 6:00 pm local time · cases in 2000
- Place
- Incline Village, Nevada · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 185 · all 185s on the register
- Registration
- N4021Y · registry record · serial 185-0221
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The aircraft, equipped with amphibious floats, flipped inverted during landing on water. The pilot reported that it was his intent to remain in the traffic pattern after takeoff from the land airport and make one landing there. While on downwind, however, with the wheels extended for a terrain landing, he noticed the weather deteriorating from the west and decided to proceed directly to the nearby lake for his planned passenger pickup there. During the approach for the water landing, he forgot that the wheels were extended and the aircraft flipped inverted when it touched down on the water.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 6,500 hours in all; 200 in this make and model; 180 in the last 90 days; 60 in the last 30 days; 4,900 as pilot in command; 300 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,788 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 7, 1999; 100 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,350 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: TRK Truckee CA at 5:40 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 190° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 23,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 37°F (3°C), dew point 21°F (-6°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:47 pm from TVL, 21 miles away
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.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N4021Y on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Cessna 185 Skywagon 228 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Cessna 72,678 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Continental IO-520-D 95 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Truckee-Tahoe Airport · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in Nevada 1,294 since 1982 · 223 in the last ten years
- Nevada 4,583 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/LAX00LA115.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.