| Crash location | 69.263889°N, 141.723334°W
Reported location is a long distance from the NTSB's reported nearest city. This often means that the location has a typo, or is incorrect. |
| Nearest city | Kaktovik, AK
70.131944°N, 143.623889°W 75.3 miles away |
| Tail number | N8041R |
|---|---|
| Accident date | 21 Aug 2018 |
| Aircraft type | Cessna A185 |
| Additional details: | None |
On August 21, 2018, about 1830 Alaska daylight time, a tail-wheel equipped Cessna 185 airplane, N8041R, sustained substantial damage during a forced landing following a loss of engine power about 75 miles southeast of Kaktovik, Alaska, on a bank of the Kangakut River. The airline transport pilot was uninjured. The airplane was registered to JNS Aviation LLC and operated by the pilot under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a visual flight rules personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed.
During an interview with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge, the pilot stated that the purpose of the flight was to locate a hunting camp along the Kangakut River. While he was flying a downwind leg to make an approach to a river gravel bar, the engine lost power and he was forced to make a landing straight ahead. He advanced the throttle to full and confirmed the mixture and propeller controls were in the full forward position. The propeller was turning. As he approached the landing surface, he activated the auxiliary fuel pump and engine power was restored; however, the airplane was too low to recover, and it impacted the brush covered terrain. The main landing gear sheared off and the airplane slid off the river bank, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage, left elevator and right lift strut.
The airplane is equipped with a Continental Motors IO-520 series engine.
The airplane will be recovered and secured for further investigation.