- Date
- July 4, 1988, 10:30 local (18:30 UTC)
- Place
- Whittier, AK
- Injuries
- 4 fatal
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N185BTCessna 185
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 3, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19880704025659A
- Case key
- 4959
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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 flight departed six mile lake on elmendorf air force base and was destined for coghill lake. The airplane was found at the 2500 foot level of a mountain on the north side of burns glacier. The airplane heading was 324 degrees. The heading to go through the pass over burns glacier is normally 104 degrees. A video tape found on board showed that the clouds in the vicinity of the glacier obscured the mountain tops. Weather forecasts placed the ceilings at 2500 feet MSL broken to overcast.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N185BT
- Reported as
- Cessna 185
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18503070
- Airframe hours
- 3,401
- Engine
- Continental IO-520-D, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Elmendorf Aero Club
- Registered owner
- Roy S. Caelson, Jr.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 7, 1987 · 95 hours before
- Departed
- Six Mile Lake, AK
- Destination
- Coghill Lake, AK
- Flight plan
- VFR
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
- 42
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Military, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 5,356 total · 41 in this make and model · 3,713 as pilot in command · 33 in the last 90 days · 11 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 2,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 54 °F, dew point 46 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- 5WT, 4 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.