- Date
- December 23, 2007, 14:35 local (18:35 UTC)
- Place
- Skwentna, AK
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N572ECessna 185
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 28, 2008
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20071223828949A
- Case key
- 67449
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's selection of unsuitable terrain for taxi. Contributing to the accident were rough and uneven terrain, and an excessive taxispeed.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilot of a wheel/ski-equipped airplane said that after landing on a frozen lake and while taxiing to parking, the airplane's right wheel/ski struck an area of crusty, ice-covered snow, and the right main landing gear collapsed. The pilot said that the airplane subsequently nosed over, and sustained substantial damage to the wings and vertical stabilizer. The pilot said that there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane, and noted that his excessive taxi speed may have contributed to the landing gear collapse.
Factual narrative
On December 23, 2007, about 1435 Alaska standard time, a wheel/ski equipped Cessna 185 airplane, N572E, sustained substantial damage while taxiing after landing on a frozen lake, about 10 miles east of Skwentna, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) personal flight under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91, when the accident occurred. The private pilot and sole passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The airplane departed the Lake Hood Airstrip, Anchorage, Alaska, about 1400.
During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), on January 8, 2008, the pilot reported that while taxiing to parking, the right wheel/ski struck an area of crusty, ice-covered snow. He said that the right main landing gear collapsed, and the airplane nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing.
The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane, and noted that his excessive taxispeed may have contributed to the landing gear collapse.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N572E
- Reported as
- Cessna 185
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18502089
- Airframe hours
- 4,818.4
- Engine
- Continental IO-520, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- James M. Eule
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 1, 2007 · 60.8 hours before
- Departed
- Z41 · Anchorage, AK
- Destination
- Skwentna, AK
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 39
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- January 1, 2006
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 459 total · 221 in this make and model · 353 as pilot in command · 12 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 7,500 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 19 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.