- Date
- July 14, 2013, 07:30 local (13:30 UTC)
- Place
- Cascade, ID
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N185BWCessna A185F
- Defining event
- Approach-VFR pattern final: Loss of visual reference
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 12, 2013
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20130714011759A
- Case key
- 87476
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 maintain clearance from trees during final approach due to the sun glare that obscured the pilot's vision.
Findings · 4
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that while landing at a remote dirt airstrip, as he turned to final approach, the runway was obscured by the glare of the morning sun. As he continued the approach to land, about 30 feet above the ground, the right wing struck trees that were next to the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings and to the landing gear boxes. The pilot stated that had he flown a longer final he would have been able to assess the situation better. The pilot reported no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that while landing at a remote dirt airstrip, as he turned to final approach, the runway was obscured by the glare of the morning sun. As he continued the approach to land, about 30 feet above the ground, the right wing struck trees that were next to the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings and to the landing gear boxes. The pilot stated that had he flown a longer final he would have been able to assess the situation better. The pilot reported no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N185BW
- Reported as
- Cessna A185F
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18503232
- Airframe hours
- 4,307
- Engine
- Cont Motor IO 520 D, 285 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Langdon William
- Registered owner
- Langdon William
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 15, 2013 · 56 hours before
- Departed
- U88 · Crouch, ID
- Destination
- ID86 · Cascade, ID
- Airport
- ID86 · Deadwood Dam Airstrip, runway 04, 1,800 × 50 ft, dirt
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
- 60
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- June 26, 2012
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 3,241 total · 2,480 in this make and model · 3,185 as pilot in command · 66 in the last 90 days · 28 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 43 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.30 inHg
- Observed at
- SNT, 31 nm away
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 10, 2013, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 767 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.