N1078F

On June 30, 2002, about 0930 Alaska daylight time, a tundra tire-equipped Cessna 185 airplane, N1078F, sustained substantial damage when the right main landing gear struck a log during landing at a remote airstrip, about 19 miles south of Skwentna, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) cross-country personal flight when the accident occurred. The airplane was operated by the pilot. The commercial certificated pilot, and the two passengers, were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight originated at the Lake Hood Strip, Anchorage, Alaska, at 0900.

During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), on June 30, the pilot reported that he was landing at an airstrip next to the Talaheim Lodge, located along the Talachulitna River. The dirt surface airstrip is oriented north/south, and is about 1,200 feet long by 20 feet wide. The pilot said he was landing toward the north, and touched down about two feet short of the airstrip threshold. The right main landing gear struck a log stump that was concealed by bushes, just short of the threshold. The right main gear was torn off the airplane, and the right wing struck the ground. The airplane received damage to the right gear, fuselage, right wingtip, and the right elevator.