- Date
- March 9, 1989, 18:45 local (22:45 UTC)
- Place
- Alexander Lake, AK
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N70122Cessna 185E
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 28, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19890309003429A
- Case key
- 5172
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 improper in-flight planning, decisions which resulted in exceeding the amount of fuel available which resulted in fuel exhaustion.
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 intended to land on the frozen lake before proceeding back to his home base. As he approached the area of the frozen lake the airplane ran out of fuel. The pilot attempted an emergency landing on the frozen lake; after rollout the airplane struck a snowbank.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N70122
- Reported as
- Cessna 185E
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18502004
- Airframe hours
- 4,073
- Engine
- Continental IO-520-F, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Charles Green
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 29, 1988 · 112 hours before
- Departed
- Stoney River, 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
- 42
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,000 total · 455 in this make and model · 1,945 as pilot in command · 20 in the last 90 days · 15 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 40 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 25 °F, dew point 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.
Other investigations on N70122 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.