Cessna A185 N185FT

Summary

On 4 May 2019 at about 17:46 local time, a Cessna A185 registered N185FT was involved in an accident near Kalispell, Montana, 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

4 May 2019 at 17:46

Classification

Accident

Location

Kalispell, Montana, United States

Nearest airport

Glacier Park Intl (GPI)

Coordinates

48.3106, -114.2561

Aircraft

Cessna A185

Registration

N185FT

Category

Airplane

Year built

1977

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Bigfork → Kalispell

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR19LA134

Nobody was injured.

The loss of directional control during landing for reasons that could not be determined based on available evidence.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot and his pilot-rated passenger conducted a landing on a turf airstrip when the airplane pulled to the right as it slowed. The pilot was able to make a full stop landing and taxi back to take off. The takeoff was uneventful, so he remained in the airport area for another landing. During that landing, the airplane pulled hard to the right as it slowed. The pilot initiated a balked landing and returned to the original departure airport. During the final landing the airplane touched down on centerline for what initially appeared to be a normal landing. However, shortly after landing the pilot was unable to maintain directional control of the tailwheel equipped airplane and it veered off the right side of the runway, despite the pilot's attempt to correct back to the left with left rudder and braking. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed the tailwheel did not turn to the left properly; however, it could not be determined if the anomaly existed before the accident or if it resulted from the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.