Cessna 185 accident near Chitina, AK
On February 4, 2021, a Cessna 185 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Chitina, AK. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- February 4, 2021
- Place
- Chitina, AK
- Aircraft
- Cessna 185 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 61.585°N, 144.046°W
- NTSB ID
- 20210205102605
Official records · ANC21FA015
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn February 4, 2021, about 1051 Alaska standard time, a Cessna A185E, N9725Z, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident about 14 miles northeast of Chitina, Alaska. The commercial pilot and passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 scheduled passenger flight. A Garmin 696 GPSMAP was recovered from the accident site. GPS data logs for the day of the accident revealed that, after reaching a GPS altitude of about 7,500 ft, the airplane continued on a southeasterly track for about 10 minutes with a groundspeed between 120 and 130 knots. About 2 minutes before the accident, the airplane initiated a gradual right turn to the south and began a descent, which averaged about 734 ft per minute. The last fully recorded in-flight data point was at 1050:52, when the airplane was at a GPS altitude of 5,715 ft with a groundspeed of 154 kts and on a track of 282° (see figure 1). Figure 1. Flight track AIRCRAFT INFORMATIONThe accident airplane was involved in a collision in May 2014 that damaged the right wing, vertical stabilizer, rudder, right horizontal stabilizer, and right elevator. The right wing was replaced with a wing from a Cessna 180H. The differences between the Cessna 180H wing and the Cessna A185E wing are not structurally significant. Some repairs were performed to the outboard upper skin and ribs of the replacement right wing. The vertical stabilizer, rudder, right horizontal stabilizer, and right elevator were repaired. METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATIONTwo pilots that respond
Probable cause
An in-flight breakup during cruise flight for reasons that could not be determined based on available evidence.
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Browse: Alaska · Cessna aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
