# NTSB ANC05LA043: Cessna 185, N80449, Russian Mission, AK, February 26, 2005 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: February 26, 2005, 14:00 local (18:00 UTC) - Place: Russian Mission, AK - Coordinates: 61.966667, -160.25 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=61.9667&lon=-160.2500&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 3 uninjured - Status: Completed, report June 8, 2005 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - Parties: FAA, Anchorage Flight Standards District Office - NTSB case key (mKey): 61085 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC05LA043 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/61085/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC05LA043 ## Probable cause The pilot's misjudged landing flare during landing, which resulted in a hard landing and structural damage to the fuselage when the left main landing gear collapsed. A factor associated with the accident is pressure placed upon the pilot by the conditions/events (leaking gas in the cargo compartment). ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Hard landing, landing - flare/touchdown - pressure induced by conditions/events, pilot in command (contributing factor) - flare - misjudged, pilot in command (cause) - Main gear collapsed, landing - flare/touchdown - terrain condition - frozen - terrain condition - snow covered ## Analysis The private pilot reported that he flared too high while landing his wheel-ski equipped airplane on a remote, frozen river. The airplane subsequently landed hard, and collapsed the left main landing gear, resulting in structural damage to the airplane fuselage and the main landing gear's left gear box. He noted that part of his cargo was a gasoline-powered ice auger, and it was leaking fuel. He said he rushed his landing approach to get the airplane on the ground and remove the auger. ## Factual narrative On February 26, 2005, about 1400 Alaska standard time, a wheel/ski equipped Cessna 185 airplane, N80449, sustained substantial damage when the left main landing gear collapsed during a hard landing on a remote frozen river, located about 30 nautical miles northeast of Russian Mission, Alaska. The private pilot/airplane owner and the two passengers were not injured. The 14 CFR Part 91 cross-country personal flight departed Bethel, Alaska, about 1300, and the destination was the accident location. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. During a telephone conversation with the NTSB investigator-in-charge on February 26, the pilot related he flared too high while landing on a stretch of the Yukon River, and that the airplane landed hard and collapsed the left main landing gear. He stated that the left main landing gear strut's gear box was damaged when the gear leg collapsed, and that the gear leg penetrated the fuselage near the baggage compartment. He noted that there were no preaccident mechanical problems with the airplane. In his written statement to the NTSB, the pilot noted that he was in a rush to land the airplane because a part of the cargo he was carrying inside the airplane was a gasoline-powered ice auger, and that it was leaking gas. He indicated he wanted to land quickly, and get it and the associated fumes out of the airplane. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N80449](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N80449), registered now, S/N 18503119 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 185 - 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: 18503119 - Airframe hours: 1902 - Engines: Continental IO-520 300 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Harry E. Faulkner, Jr. - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, March 24, 2004, 21 hours before - Departed: BET, Bethel, AK - Destination: Russian Mission, AK ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 42; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine sea, single-engine land; medical: class 3, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; last flight review May 29, 2004; seat: left; flight hours: 1,900 total, 700 in this make and model, 1,900 as pilot in command, 25 in the last 90 days, 15 in the last 30 days, 5 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 360° at 12 knots - Visibility: 20 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 25 °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 20050226006529A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20050226006529A), Feb 26, 2005: Cessna A185F, Russian Mission, AK, Substantial damage. (-23) On February 26, 2005, about 1400 Alaska standard time, a wheel/ski equipped Cessna 185 airplane, N80449, sustained substantial damage when the left main… 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.