- Date
- April 11, 1989, 17:30 local (Apr 12, 1989, 01:30 UTC)
- Place
- Trinity Lake, AK
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N9850XCessna 185
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 28, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19890411007929A
- Case key
- 5175
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 on which to land.
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 was attempting a late afternoon landing at an off airport landing site on a snow covered lake. Shortly after touch down, the right main landing gear ski became detached from the gear leg. The gear leg went through the snow and into the ice below, collapsing the right main gear in the process. The pilot reported that the snow conditions were extremely wet, and that during the landing roll the right main ski became mired in the heavy snow, ultimately causing the ski attachment bolts to fail and allowing the gear leg to strike the ice.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9850X
- Reported as
- Cessna 185
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 1850050
- Airframe hours
- 3,881
- Engine
- Continental IO-520, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Costley, Donald E.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 13, 1988 · 97 hours before
- Departed
- LHD · Anchorage, 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
- 47
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 942 total · 703 in this make and model · 12 in the last 90 days · 7 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 60 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 39 °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 N9850X · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.