# NTSB ANC05CA141: Cessna 185F, N58316, Bettles, AK, September 12, 2005 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: September 11, 2005, 20:25 local (Sep 12, 2005, 04:25 UTC) - Place: Bettles, AK - Coordinates: 66.812774, -150.64389 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=66.8128&lon=-150.6439&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report February 28, 2006 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - NTSB case key (mKey): 62461 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC05CA141 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/62461/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC05CA141 ## Probable cause The pilot's inadequate compensation for a gusty crosswind, which resulted in a loss of control and an inadvertent ground-loop during the landing roll. Factors associated with the accident were the ground-loop and gusts. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - on ground/water, landing - roll - weather condition - gusts (contributing factor) - compensation for wind conditions - inadequate, pilot in command (cause) - weather condition - crosswind (contributing factor) - ground loop/swerve - inadvertent, pilot in command (contributing factor) - Main gear collapsed, landing - roll - terrain condition - runway ## Analysis The airline transport certificated pilot was conducting a 14 CFR Part 135 on-demand passenger flight in a tailwheel-equipped airplane. The pilot said he flew over the airstrip, and the wind sock indicated a strong right crosswind. As the airplane slowed during the landing roll, he said he lost rudder authority, and the airplane ground-looped to the right. He said the left wing received structural damage when it struck the runway following the collapse of the main landing gear. The pilot said there were no known mechanical anomalies with the airplane prior to the accident. ## Factual narrative On September 11, 2005, about 2025 Alaska daylight time, a Cessna 185F airplane, N58316, sustained substantial damage following a loss of control during the landing roll, and subsequent ground-loop at the Prospect Creek Airstrip, 25 miles east of Bettles, Alaska. The airplane was being operated by Jespersen Aircraft Services, doing business as Brooks Range Aviation, Bettles, as a visual flight rules (VFR) on-demand passenger flight under Title 14, CFR Part 135, when the accident occurred. The airline transport certificated pilot and sole passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and company flight following procedures were in effect. The flight originated at the Bettles Airport, Bettles, about 2015. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) on September 12, the pilot said that during landing he noted that there was a strong crosswind from the right. He said after touching down, as the airplane slowed, he lost rudder authority, and the airplane ground-looped to the right. He said the left wing was structurally damaged when the left main landing gear collapsed during the ground-loop. The pilot said there were no known mechanical anomalies with the airplane prior to the accident. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N58316](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N58316), registered now, S/N 18503284, built 1977 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 185F - Registry model: [Cessna A185F](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-a185f) (registry code 2072821) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental IO-520 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-520-series) (registry code 17032, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 18503284 - Engines: Continental IO-520D 300 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Part 135 - Operator: Brooks Range Aviation - Registered owner: Jespersen Aircraft Services - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility - Departed: PPC, Bettles, AK - Destination: Bettles, AK - Flight plan: Company VFR - Airport: PAPR, Prospect Creek, runway 36 ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 44; injuries: none; flight engineer, commercial, airline transport; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land, single-engine sea; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1; flight hours: 14,500 total, 500 in this make and model, 217 in the last 90 days, 65 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 90° at 15 knots, gusting 20 - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 50 °F, dew point 45 °F ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20050911020339A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20050911020339A), Sep 11, 2005: Cessna A185F, Prospect Creek, AK, Substantial damage. (-23) On a landing at Prospect Creek Alaska, the pilot [privacy data omitted] a commercial pilot of N58316, a CE-185 lost directional control of the aircraft… ## Other investigations on N58316 (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB ANC21LA026](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC21LA026), Mar 20, 2021: Cessna A185F (N58316), Fairbanks, AK, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll, which resulted in a ground loop. From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.