Cessna 185 N9950X

Summary

On 3 October 2005 at about 03:30 local time, a Cessna 185 registered N9950X was involved in an accident near Iliamna, Alaska, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

3 October 2005 at 03:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Iliamna, Alaska, United States

Coordinates

59.7497, -155.4378

Aircraft

Cessna 185

Registration

N9950X

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Aleknagik → Iliamna

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC06LA001

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadequate preflight inspection, which failed to detect water-contaminated fuel, resulting in a loss of engine power during cruise flight, and subsequent in-flight collision with terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airline transport pilot was conducting a 14 CFR Part 91 personal cross-country flight, when the engine lost power about 20 miles from the final destination. The pilot said the symptoms were similar to fuel starvation, but according to his calculations he should have had 30 minutes of fuel remaining. In a written statement to the NTSB, the pilot wrote that the morning following the accident, before the airplane was recovered, he "noticed a substantial amount of frost/ice buildup around the left fuel vent, and on the ground from the fuel venting throughout the night," and "in my opinion it seemed to indicate that there was still a fair amount of water in the fuel that caused this ice buildup." He wrote, "although I felt I properly drained the tanks prior to takeoff, it seems there was still water trapped in the tanks." After recovery the airplane's engine was prepared with a new propeller and clean fuel at an aircraft maintenance facility. The engine was started, and run through a variety of power settings, without any evidence of mechanical malfunction. The pilot reported that during the forced landing, the landing gear was torn off, structurally damaging the fuselage. He also stated that prior to the accident there were no known mechanical anomalies with the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.