N185AV

On June 13, 2004, about 0800 Alaska daylight time, a wheel-equipped Cessna 185 airplane, N185AV, sustained substantial damage when both main landing gear collapsed while landing on rough and uneven terrain, about 10 miles south-southwest of Skwentna, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) cross-country personal flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. The commercial certificated pilot and the one passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. No flight plan was filed, nor was one required. The flight originated about 0715, from the Merrill Field Airport, Anchorage, Alaska.

During a telephone conversation with the NTSB investigator-in-charge on June 24, the pilot reported that he was landing on a remote gravel-covered beach site, adjacent to the Talachuitna River. He said that during the landing flare, he encountered a slight downdraft, and the airplane touched down harder than anticipated. After touchdown, the left main landing gear collapsed, followed by the collapse of the right main landing gear. Following the landing gear collapse, the fuselage struck the surface of the gravel-covered site, and sustained structural damage to the left elevator, left wing, and fuselage. The pilot said that there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies noted with the airplane.