Cessna 185 N9434N

Summary

On 28 May 2007 at about 22:15 local time, a Cessna 185 registered N9434N was involved in an accident near Wilbur, Washington, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

28 May 2007 at 22:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Wilbur, Washington, United States

Nearest airport

Gerald Gollehon Strip (22WA)

Coordinates

47.8278, -118.6664

Aircraft

Cessna 185

Registration

N9434N

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Wilbur → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA07FA134

1 person died.

In-flight collision with terrain shortly after takeoff for undetermined reasons.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Based on all the available evidence, it is believed that shortly after taking off from his private grass airstrip, the pilot encountered an undetermined problem that caused him to attempt a precautionary or forced landing in the only nearby level flat open area available. During that attempt, with the airplane in the landing configuration, and at a very low airspeed, the airplane's left wing came in contact with the level terrain. When the wing contacted the terrain, the airplane cart wheeled nose-first into the ground, and came to a stop about 12 feet beyond where the nose impacted the field. The investigation did not reveal any anomalies in the airplane's airframe, engine, or flight controls that would explain the necessity for the forced landing or would have contributed to the wing tip coming in contact with the terrain. It could not be determined if the pilot lost control of the airplane during the last part of the landing sequence, or whether he inadvertently allowed the wing tip to touch the ground during a low level turn to align the airplane's heading parallel to an upcoming ditch just prior to touchdown.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.