Skip to content

Atlas / NTSB / ANC23LA075

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event ANC23LA075

2023-09-12 Healy, Alaska, United States None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N34VV

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

CESSNA 185

Year of manufacture

1961 · 62 years old at event

Engine

CONT MOTOR IO-470 SER (260 hp)

Seats / Engines

6 seats · 1 engine

Last airworthiness date

19941116

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S A3BCE4

Registrant of record

WATTUM INVESTMENTS LLC

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s selection of an unsuitable landing site, resulting in a nose over.

Factual narrative

The pilot of a tailwheel-equipped airplane reported that, during landing rollout at an overgrown remote airstrip, the main landing gear wheels “sunk into soft vegetation.” The airplane subsequently nosed over and sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, vertical stabilizer, and wings. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

  • Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot
  • Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Identification/recognition-Pilot
  • Environmental issues-Physical environment-Runway/land/takeoff/taxi surface-Soft surface-Effect on operation
  • Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-(general)-Capability exceeded

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2023_ANC23LA075.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.