- Date
- October 3, 1996, 08:15 local (13:15 UTC)
- Place
- Finley, ND
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N185NDCessna 185
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 23, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19961003030839A
- Case key
- 10471
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
failure of the flight instructor (CFI) to ensure that clearance from the dock was maintained, while starting to taxi. The crosswind was a related factor.
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 airplane was parked on shore near a dock. The flight instructor (CFI) reported that after starting the engine, the airplane began to move forward, and the wing strut and wing cleared the dock. After the wing cleared the dock, the instructor began to lower the water rudders, and the tail of the airplane began moving toward the dock. A right crosswind was present during the departure from the shore. The instructor reported that full left rudder with the water rudders partially extended was ineffective in stopping the horizontal stabilizer of the airplane from hitting the dock.
Factual narrative
On October 3, 1996, at 0815 central daylight time (cdt), a Cessna 185, N185ND, sustained substantial damage when the airplane's horizontal stabilizer collided with a dock. The airplane was taxiing for takeoff, on Golden Lake, near Finley, North Dakota, when the accident occurred. The flight instructor and student pilot were uninjured in the accident. The 14 CFR Part 91 flight was operating in visual meteorological conditions, and no flight plan had been filed.
The flight instructor reported on NTSB form 6120.1/2 that the airplane was parked on the shore near the dock. Before departing the shore the instructor reported that she and the student discussed the departure, and believed that distance between the dock and the airplane did not appear to present a problem during departure.
The instructor reported that after starting the airplane's engine the airplane began to move forward, and the wing strut and wing cleared the dock. After clearing the dock with the wing the instructor reported that she began to lower the water rudders, and the tail of the airplane began moving towards the dock. The diagram included with the report shows that the aircraft was experiencing a right crosswind during the departure from shore. The instructor reported that full left rudder with the water rudders partially extended was ineffective in stopping the horizontal of the airplane from hitting the dock. The pilot did not report any airplane or engine malfunctions.
The airplane's horizontal stabilizer required replacement, following the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N185ND
- Reported as
- Cessna 185
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18504369
- Airframe hours
- 2,124
- Engine
- Continental IO-520-D, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- University Of North Dakota
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 4, 1996 · 41 hours before
- Departed
- GFK · Grand Forks, ND
- Destination
- Golden Lake
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
- 26
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 2,415 total · 16 in this make and model · 2,344 as pilot in command · 122 in the last 90 days · 45 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 170° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 30 °F, dew point 25 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- GFK
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.