Cessna 185E N3539F

Summary

On 23 April 1999 at about 02:10 local time, a Cessna 185E registered N3539F was involved in an accident near Haines, Alaska, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

23 April 1999 at 02:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Haines, Alaska, United States

Nearest airport

Haines (HNS)

Coordinates

59.1605, -135.8606

Aircraft

Cessna 185E

Registration

N3539F

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Juneau → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC99LA049

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's inadequate compensation for the gusty crosswind conditions.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot was landing the amphibious float plane on runway 08. The runway was wet, and winds were reported to be 070 degrees at 20 knots, gusting to 29 knots. The pilot told the NTSB IIC, and the FAA, that he was aware that strong 90 degree left crosswinds occur near the center of the runway during these conditions. He described using a large amount of left aileron during final approach due to the left crosswind, and intentionally landed on the left side of the 100 feet wide runway, anticipating strong gusts. The pilot said the initial landing roll felt normal, and the airplane drifted to the right during rollout. He said that as the airplane slowed, a strong left gust lifted the left wing, and the airplane departed the right side of the runway. The pilot said he did not recall any preaccident anomalies with the airplane. An air taxi pilot who departed the airport about 40 minutes earlier, reported telling the accident pilot in flight that the winds were '20 to 25 knots with gusts to at least 30. Direct crosswind from the left and that it was pretty nasty.' The pilot responded, 'doesn't sound too good.' The accident pilot had accumulated about 40 total hours of amphibious experience, all in the accident airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.