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).
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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 September 29, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 7, 2000 · about 6:00 pm local time
- 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 NTSB's narratives can run to many pages; this is the opening. Read the full report at the NTSB.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database and is rewritten in plain English only where the NTSB used codes; the probable cause and narrative are the NTSB's own words. 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 LAX00LA115.