N61500

On March 14, 1993, at approximately 1245 Alaska standard time, a wheel/ski equipped Cessna 185 airplane, N61500, owned and operated by Cape Smythe Air Service, collided with terrain while maneuvering at low altitude near the site of a remote fishing camp, approximately 40 miles west of Barrow, Alaska. The commercial certificated pilot and the one passenger, the pilot's fiancee, were not injured and the airplane sustained substantial damage. According to the pilot in command, the airplane was being operated under 14 CFR Part 91 for the purpose of aerial observation of the snow conditions at the fishing camp when the accident occurred. The flight originated at Barrow at about 1214. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and a VFR flight plan was filed.

During a telephone conversation with the NTSB investigator in charge on the afternoon of March 15, 1993, the pilot in command said that he was maneuvering the airplane, which was equipped with a Robinson Stol Kit, approximately 300 feet above the ground with 3 notches of flaps at approximately 65 knots indicated airspeed (IAS). He initiated a "casual" left banking turn near some caribou when the airplane banked violently to the left. Altitude was lost and the left wing and landing gear struck the ground. The pilot reported that he regained control of the airplane and returned to Barrow, Alaska. The pilot further commented that the mishap may have been caused by an inadvertent stall.

A post accident examination of the airplane by company personnel did not reveal any preexisting problems.