NTSB ANC89FA049 — 1989-03-06 · PUNTILLA LAKE, Alaska, United States

Current FAA registration · N1292F

Make / Model: CESSNA A185F
Year of manufacture: 1975 · 14 years old at event
Engine: CONT MOTOR IO 520 SERIES (285 hp)
Seats / Engines: 6 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19950831
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A077C5

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N1292F Cessna A-185-F Minor

Probable cause & findings

THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO OBTAIN AN ADEQUATE AIRSPEED, THE TURN TO REVERSE COURSE MANEUVER PERFORMED AT THE REDUCED AIRSPEED AND POOR PREFLIGHT PLANNING. CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WERE THE MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN AND THE DOWNDRAFT CONDITIONS.

Factual narrative

IMMEDIATELY AFTER TAKEOFF, THE PILOT BECAME UNSURE OF CLEARING THE MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN. A 180 DEG TURN WAS INITIATED DURING WHICH THE PILOT ENCOUNTERED A STRONG DOWNDRAFT. PASSENGERS AND WITNESSES STATED THAT THE AIRPLANE MAINTAINED AN UNUSUAL NOSE-HIGH ATTITUDE AND LOW AIRSPEED FROM LIFT-OFF TO JUST BEFORE IMPACT. THE PILOT HAD TAKEN OFF FROM A ROUGH AREA ON THE FROZEN LAKE, DIFFERENT FROM THE USUAL TAKEOFF AREA. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1989_ANC89FA049.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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