- Date
- May 29, 1989, 15:30 local (23:30 UTC)
- Place
- Kahiltna Glac, AK
- Injuries
- 4 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N1047FCessna 185F
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 22, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19890529013029A
- Case key
- 5191
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 decision to commit himself to a landing before completing an evaluation of the weather in the vicinity of the landing site. Contributing to the severity of the accident was the snowbank off the side of the runway with which the aircraft collided.
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
During a VFR final approach to a glacier the pilot encountered a low fog bank. The pilot stated, 'on short final with full flaps and a loaded aircraft landing at this location, a go around is impossible, I was committed to land. Upon descending further I found myself in a ground fog and lost ground contact....the landing was hard and on a steeper part of the glacier in deep snow and to the left of the usual touchdown point.' On landing the gear boxes broke, the right ski came off and collided with the right horizontal stabilizer, and the propeller came off the engine.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1047F
- Reported as
- Cessna 185F
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18502704
- Airframe hours
- 5,484
- Engine
- Continental IO-520-D, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 135
- Operator
- Doug Geeting Aviation, doing business as Doug Geeting Aviation
- Registered owner
- Doug Geeting Aviation
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · May 17, 1989 · 26 hours before
- Departed
- TKA · Talkeetnna, AK
- Flight plan
- Company 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
- 31
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 4,131 total · 900 in this make and model · 3,975 as pilot in command · 119 in the last 90 days · 88 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 2 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 36 °F, dew point 34 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
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 N1047F · 3
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.