- Date
- June 28, 1995, 21:15 local (Jun 29, 1995, 05:15 UTC)
- Place
- Fairbanks, AK
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N9667QCessna 185
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 4, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19950628015599A
- Case key
- 2673
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 failure to follow procedures and directives to not extend the landing gear during a water landing due to habit interference.
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 stated, he normally flies a retractable landing gear Mooney and he believes that he inadvertently extended the landing gear before landing on the water. Examination of the airplane showed that the amphibious float landing gear was extended and the landing gear handle was in the down select position.
Factual narrative
On June 28, 1995, at 2115 Alaska daylight time, an amphibious float equipped Cessna 185 airplane, N9667Q, registered to and operated by the pilot, landed on the water with the wheels down and nosed over during landing at Chena Marina, Fairbanks, Alaska. The personal flight, operating under 14 CFR Part 91, departed from the water at Chena Marina for a local flight. No flight plan was filed and visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The commercial certificated pilot and his one passenger were not injured. The airplane received substantial damage.
According to the pilot, he believes that he put the wheels down out of habit because he normally flies a retractable gear Mooney airplane. He stated there was no mechanical problem with the airplane.
Subsequent examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration, Flight Standards Inspector showed that the wheels on the amphibious floats were extended and that the landing gear control handle was in the down position.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9667Q
- Reported as
- Cessna 185
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18503785
- Airframe hours
- 1,900
- Engine
- Continental IO-520-D3, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Crathern, Charles
- Registered owner
- Cfh Crathern
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 21, 1995 · 50 hours before
- Departed
- AK28
- Airport
- AK28 · Chena Marina Seaplane, runway 18, water
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 65
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 3,170 total · 43 in this make and model · 3,000 as pilot in command · 75 in the last 90 days · 44 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 120° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 80 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 11,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- FAI, 3 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.