- Date
- March 19, 1990, 21:15 local (Mar 20, 1990, 01:15 UTC)
- Place
- Alexander Lake, AK
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N3386LCessna A185E
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report September 30, 1991
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19900319006589A
- Case key
- 5285
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
Loss of engine power for an unknown reason. Factors related to the accident were: darkness and trees in the emergency landing area.
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 eng lost power shortly after the plt began a dscnt. Subsequently, the acft collided with trees during an emergency landing at night. No reason was verified for the loss of power, though the possibility of ice in the fuel system was considered. The temp & dew point were 8 deg & zero deg, respective, which was not conducive for carb ice. The acft was further damaged after the acdnt, when it started to swing wildly during a helicopter sling opn & had to be released from about 300 ft AGL.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3386L
- Reported as
- Cessna A185E
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 185-1338
- Airframe hours
- 3,377
- Engine
- Continental IO-520-D, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- David A. Alborn
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 12, 1989 · 135 hours before
- Departed
- Unalakleet, AK
- Destination
- ANC · 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
- 34
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Unknown
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 5,063 total · 175 in this make and model · 3,814 as pilot in command · 74 in the last 90 days · 57 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 30° at 6 knots, gusting 6
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 9 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.