- Date
- May 12, 1997, 17:30 local (May 13, 1997, 01:30 UTC)
- Place
- Cordova, AK
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N1005FCessna 185
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 10, 1998
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19970512009919A
- Case key
- 3004
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 not to perform a go-around. A factor in the accident was the presence of birds which led the pilot to extend and misjudge his touchdown point.
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 to land his float equipped airplane on a lake when he saw a flock of geese near his intended touchdown point. He elected to lengthen his landing approach and fly over the geese. Soon after touchdown, he realized he would not be able to stop the airplane prior to the shoreline, and that he had insufficient room to abort the landing. The airplane ran up on the shore and struck a tree. The pilot reported that he should have performed a go-around.
Factual narrative
On May 12, 1997, about 1730 Alaska daylight time, a float equipped Cessna 185 airplane, N1005F, sustained substantial damage while landing on Eyak Lake, Cordova, Alaska. The private pilot and the one passenger aboard were not injured. The 14 CFR Part 91 flight originated at Yakutat, Alaska, and was en route to Cordova. The flight operated in visual meteorological conditions. A visual flight rules flight plan was in effect.
The pilot wrote in his report to the NTSB that he was landing to the west on Eyak Lake. Prior to touchdown, he saw a flock of geese on the lake and lengthened his landing approach to over fly them. When he touched down, he soon realized he would not be able to stop the airplane prior to hitting the shore, and that he had insufficient room to abort the landing. The airplane continued toward the shoreline, ran up on the bank, and struck a tree with the left wing and float. The left wing sustained substantial damage.
In the section of the NTSB Report titled "Recommendation (How Could This Accident Been Prevented)", the pilot wrote: "... Should have made a go-around... miscalculated."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1005F
- Reported as
- Cessna 185
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18502677
- Airframe hours
- 2,400
- Engine
- Continental IO-520-D, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Theodore J. Shaw
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 29, 1997 · 30 hours before
- Departed
- 2Y3 · Yakutat, AK
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- CKU · Eyak Lake, runway 27, water
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
- 64
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 778 total · 268 in this make and model · 700 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 160° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 25 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 4,400 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 46 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- CDV
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 N1005F · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.